Come What May
by singing the sailor song
Summary: Two sisters board the RMS Titanic for the maiden voyage. Kelly can be a brat sometimes and she wants to be herself. Rebecca is the favorite of the family and is getting sick of it. When these two both find true love, will they be saved? double officer fic
1. Call It Kismet

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

_**Chapter 1**_

On the morning of April 10th, 1912, the dock in Southampton was full of life. Many people were there just to watch the sailing of the White Star Line's newest leviathan, the supposedly 'unsinkable' RMS Titanic.

Kelly and Rebecca Hoffman made their way through the crowd of bustling well-wishers and passengers. Kelly stopped walking suddenly, from walking at the same steady pace as her older sister, and stared in awe at the ship's size and magnificence. Rebecca stopped walking as well and stood next to Kelly.  
"This is truly a sign of God's handy work," Rebecca stated.

"Aye. Indeed it really is. It's magnificent. It's breathtaking. It's as though it were almost as powerful as God, himself." Kelly stated, not taking her eyes off the ship.

Rebecca neither removed her eyes. "Where are mother and father?" She asked finally.

"I haven't a clue. Perhaps they got lost amongst the crowd. There sure are a lot of people here. It's nearly overwhelming."

"That it is. Now, let's go. They've already brought our luggage on the ship," Rebecca said.

"But, shouldn't we find mother and father first?" Kelly asked.

As Kelly spoke those words, their parents appeared. "You girls ought to know better than to walk off like that." Their mother scolded. Father just stood there, with a weary expression on his face.

"Yes mother, but it is not like anything would have happened to us," Rebecca replied.

"Of course, Rebecca, dear. Your father and I are sure nothing would happen to _you_. Although we cannot say the same for your sister." Mother's cold gaze was directed at Kelly. "Surely, it was Kelly's idea for you to wander away from your father and I."

"No, Mother, it wasn't Kelly's fault. We were both just amazed by the ship's size and elegance." Rebecca stated, in order to defend her younger sister.

Mother's expression didn't soften a bit as she stared at Kelly's hands. There was a popping noise that just irritated their mother to no end. "Kelly Ann Hoffman! What have I told you about cracking your knuckles?! That is very unladylike!"

Kelly stood there as her mother went on and on about her poor manners. _There is no use in arguing_, Kelly thought, _I'll only lose anyway_. She rolled her eyes and sighed deeply.

"Kelly Ann! Are you even listening to me, young lady?" Her mother screeched.

Father put a hand on their mother's arm. "Now, Ellen, we'd best get moving or we'll miss the ship."

"Yes, father is right. If we do not board now, we might miss the ship," Rebecca said finally. In a attempt to save her sister, she took Kelly tightly by the arm and began to lead her to the gang plank which would take them to the ship that would change their lives forever.

--------------------

Kelly watched her and her sister's maid, Annie, unpacking the luggage. "Please, Annie, let me help you with that?" Kelly said while reaching for a brown leather bag that was sitting, still packed, on one of the neatly made beds.

"I am sorry, Miss Kelly, but I cannot allow you to help me. your mother would throw a fit. And I am quite capable of taking care of this myself. But, thank you for offering your assistance."

Kelly and Rebecca looked at each other as Annie went on with the unpacking.

"Well then I suppose we should watch the ship leave," Rebecca commented since her sister would not be allowed to help.

"If we stay we might get in Annie's way," Rebecca added.

In all honesty Rebecca wished to get away for another reason, being the golden child she was supposed to be she very well knew that if she went up on deck her parents would not mind.

Kelly jumped up with excitement. She, too, wished to watch the ship leave. She began to run as fast as her corset would let her down the hall. She bumped into an elderly couple. The old woman looked shocked and was about to say something, but Kelly just muttered "Sorry," and ran off.

"Well, I never-" The older woman said to her husband while she watched Kelly leave.

Rebecca laughed at her sister's enthusiasm.

"I am so sorry ma'am," Rebecca said to the elderly woman.

"Kelly wait up!" Rebecca called as she ran off after her sister as she ran she did the same thing her sister did. She bumped into a person, only this time it was a man.

"Pardon me miss," the man said in a deep welsh accent.

"Sorry, my fault," she replied as she continued to run after her sister.

Kelly reached the deck, completely out of breath. Rebecca followed, not too far behind her. They found an open space by the railing and stood there. Rebecca stared in awe at all the people, who were just there for the heck of it.

Kelly started waving to the people, although she didn't know any of them. Rebecca stared at her sister incredulously, but then started to wave as well (but, perhaps not so wildly, nor as enthusiastically). _Kel always has been a bit more outgoing than I,_ Rebecca thought,_ it's hard to believe we are even sisters... _

Rebecca continued to wave at the people, smiling broadly. The truth about Rebecca was, she hated being the golden child. But waving was just being polite she supposed, as her mother had raised her to be. Out of the two Hoffman girls, Rebecca was the favorite, the one who received the best things. When they both were younger, Kelly would sometimes receive Rebecca's old clothing when she out grew it, and Kelly only sometimes received anything new. The only reason why she was on this ship right now was because they were going to America to meet Rebecca's fiancee.

The man, Michael, whom she was betrothed to, not to her liking, had written her few letters, but always only talked about himself.

The ship was moving and the people, whom she had been waving to, seemed to get smaller as the Titanic began to sail away. Kelly turned around and saw Rebecca still waving.

Kelly walked off. Being the adventurous and curious 17 year-old girl she was, she decided to explore a bit. She ran down a strip of deck where nobody seemed to be. She stopped in front of the entrance to the bridge.

Kelly began wheezing a bit and having trouble breathing. _Damn these corsets. I can't even breathe in these normally, let alone run in one. _

She walked over toward a deck chair and leaned on it for a moment. Dizziness took over her, and she suddenly fell to the hard wooden deck. _Perhaps I shall just lay here for now. Until some curious bystander walks by and alerts somebody_. She still had trouble catching her breath.

A tall man in a dark blue uniform approached her. She couldn't see him, but she could hear his footsteps. "Blimey, are you all right, miss? What happened?"

"I'll be fine. I just got a bit dizzy for a second. That is what I get for running around in this damned corset." She said. The young man laughed. He stretched out his hand to help her up.

Once she was standing up, she brushed herself off. "Thank you."

"Any time, Miss." He replied with a smile.

"You may stop calling me 'miss'. I hate that. Please call me Kelly, or Kel. Anything but 'miss'. It's just so... formal."

"Of course, Kel." She smiled as he said her name. "Well, I am Sixth Officer James Paul Moody of the RMS Titanic. But, without the formality, you may just refer to me as Jim, if you'd like."

"Certainly." She replied. She looked into his deep brown eyes. He stared into her greenish-hazel eyes.

--------------------

Rebecca finished waving, looked and found her sister no where.

_Well, she probably just wandered off_, she thought silently. She walked over to another part of the deck and looked around. Some people, who had been waving, had remained where they were, still waving, some looked about, and some returned to their rooms to unpack. Rebecca decided to be one of the people who walked around the deck.

--------------------

They both finally broke eye contact. Kelly looked around and saw no one around. "Well, I had best be on my way right now. My mother will be frantic if she can't find me." _Yeah, right. Like she'd give a shit about me. _

Jim pretended to look disappointed. "Oh, must you leave?"

"Yes, I am afraid so." She returned the coy expression he had. "Thank you, Officer Jim."

"Hey, What's with this 'officer' stuff? I thought we agreed on no formalities."

"Well, I think it has a bit of a ring to it. 'Officer Jim'. It's kind of cute."

"All right, you may call me that," He stated with a laugh, "But, just do not call me that in front of the other officers, or I'll never live it down."

"Sure thing, Officer Jim." She said with a sarcastic smile. She then walked back down the deck.

"Kel?" She heard him call toward her.

She turned around. "Yes?"

"Will you promise me something?" He asked.

"It depends, what?"

"Will I see you again?" He yelled to her.

"You can bet on that." Kelly replied and turned around again. She walked away with an uncontrollable smile on her face.

---------------------

As Rebecca walked, she saw the man she ran into before. He seemed to be an officer, now that she got a better look at him. She shrugged and turned her attention to something else, out of the corner of her eye she could see the man look at her with an expression that was between a smile and a look of annoyance.

_Well, I would not blame him one bit if he were annoyed with me,_ she thought.

Then she turned around and walked past the man who shot a look at her as she walked by him. She headed to the bow of the ship.

--------------------

Kelly walked down the A-deck promenade. The afternoon sun cast an orange glow on her face.

--------------------

Once she reached the bow of the ship Rebecca bent over slightly and looked down at the choppy waters.

"This truly is a day to go down in history," she thought out loud.

--------------------

Kelly continued down the large grand ship's deck. She was keeping her eyes on the water, the endless sea that seemed to stretch out for miles and miles.

"Kelly?" She heard a male voice say from behind her. She spun around quickly, hoping perhaps it might be the kind officer she met earlier, but it was not. "Kelly Hoffman? Is that you?"

Kelly was surprised. "George Morley? From River Hill Academy?" She asked.

He nodded. "I haven't seen you since you transferred to that all-girl school last year. What are you doing here?"

"I'm traveling to the United States with my family for my sister's engagement."

"She got engaged? That's lovely." He replied.

"Not exactly. I have the feeling she doesn't like this man at all. She's never even met him." Kelly answered.

"Well, I still wish her luck with her upcoming marriage."

Kelly smiled politely. "I will pass that message onto her." She looked down at the floor for a moment. "What are you doing here?"

"I am heading to New York with my father on a business trip. I always liked to travel, so I suppose he decided out of the kindness in him to let me come with."

"That's lovely. Well, I really had better be going. It was great to see a familiar face around here. We'll have to get together sometime to talk. To catch up on what has been going on in our lives lately."

George smiled. "I will look forward to it."

She shook his hand gently and went on her way.

--------------------

Rebecca then straightened her appearance but kept her eyes out on the sea. As she stood in silence, she contemplated the reasons as to why she was even on this ship. Her family had betrothed her to some American from the state of Virginia. He was quite a pompous and she hated the arrangement from the moment she had been informed of it.

This was not the life she wanted, Rebecca had dreamed of being something more than some man's little wife. She had observed how men had treated their wives, and it was not something that she enjoyed. Men would treat women as objects, possessions, nothing more. Her thoughts on marriage were simply that women were put onto this earth to reproduce, nothing more.

--------------------

Kelly saw a familiar person standing by the railing at the bow of the ship. It was Rebecca. She strode over to her and leaned against the deck with her.

Rebecca turned abruptly to face her. "Where have you been!?" She asked.

"Walking." That was one of Kelly's famous 'one word answers'.

"I know that!" Rebecca stated. _Sometimes Kelly really annoys me._

Kelly had a sarcastic looking smile on her face. "I was walking around on the deck. That's all. You sometimes remind me of Mother when you start demanding where I've been."

Rebecca was speechless.

"Do not even begin to compare me to mother. I am nothing like her," Rebecca stated.

_Wonderful, not even a day into the voyage and we are arguing. This shall be fun_, Rebecca thought silently.

"Besides I was only demanding where you were because anything could happen to you. Too many foreigners who do not know right from wrong. Also you do not want your head torn off by mother," Rebecca continued.

"You are every bit like Mother. Always demanding to know where I've been, and what I am doing. No wonder she favors you more, you are following right in her footsteps. When you and your new fiancee have children, I will have to come rescue them from you."

Rebecca was stunned. "I am tired of having to look out for you, all the time! If you would stop being such a little brat all the time, maybe I wouldn't have to demand to know where you've been."

"Oh, sod off. You don't have to watch out for me. I am 17 years old and I can very well take care of myself." Kelly shot back at her sister.

"Very well, but just wait when mother bites your head off. I was trying to help you earlier. But since I am so much like mother I will treat you like she treats you. Nothing," Rebecca said.

Then she walked around her sister and walked off, she continued to walk until she knocked into someone which caused her to fall to the ground.

"Oh, miss I'm so sorry," said the body she had bumped into.

When Rebecca opened her eyes, she opened them to see the officer she had ran into earlier.

"Excuse me, are you alright?" the officer asked.

"Oh, yes. I am quite alright. I do apologize for bumping into you... again."

"Well, it does seem to me as though you are following me around." The officer commented.

"I am not following you!" Rebecca cried.

"Yes, my apologies, miss, not that I would care if you were following me," he said with a slight laugh.

Rebecca studied this officer with interest.

_Was that a compliment?_ She thought.

"Miss?" The officer asked her, leaning forward a bit to look at her.

Rebecca came back to reality. She stopped looking at his body and looked at his eyes. "Oh, yes. Sorry. You were saying..."

"I was saying, miss, that I would not mind if you were following me," the man said. "Excuse me sir, how could you possibly say such a thing? You do not even know me," Rebecca replied.

"Then please tell me who you are. What is your first name?" the man asked.

"I am Rebecca Hoffman, and who might you be?" she asked.

"I am Harold Lowe, fifth officer. But please call me Harold or Harry. All of my friends do," the man now known as Harold replied.

"Well, Harold, it is lovely to meet you, perhaps I will see you around the ship. But I should probably return to my suite. My parents might be worried," she said.

"Very well I look forward to seeing you again," Harold said.

"Harold you say that as if I will see you again," Rebecca said, as she gave the man a look.

"Well the guess is that we will be on this ship until perhaps the 17th, chances are we will run into each other again," he replied. Rebecca gave him a look that if he knew her well enough then he would know that she was thinking he was insane, then after a nod of her head she walked around the man and went to her suite.

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**Hey, this is Kelly. I am not the only one writing this. This is written by two girls, but my co-writer does not wish for her name to be released. Please review! Thanks.**

**TITANIC IS NOT OWNED BY ME (although I wish it was...). IF ANYONE IS STUPID ENOUGH TO THINK I ACTUALLY OWN TITANIC, THEY HAVE ISSUES! **

**Thanks:)**


	2. The Interrogation

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_I cannot believe her! _Kelly thought, _She has no right to speak to me as though I were a child. I feel like just... grrr... I don't know! I feel like tearing my hair out and shoving it down her throat!_

Kelly was on her way to her room. She walked through the white hallways, passing people who she didn't know, yet still acknowledged with a polite nod. Once at the door, she was about to open it. But, as she reached for the doorknob, it swung open and her mother was standing there. Her mother grabbed her wrist roughly and pulled her into the room, slamming the door shut.

"Where in the world have you been? I have been worried sick!" her mother scolded.

"Worried? Why would you possibly be worried?" Kelly replied in a rude tone of voice.

"You just disappeared all so suddenly, and you must have dragged Rebecca with you. Now where is she?"

Kelly smirked. "You know Rebecca can take care of herself. And I surely did not drag her with me. It was her idea to leave the room in the first place."

"She wouldn't have left without telling me so." Mother stated. "I cannot have you embarrassing our family by gallivanting around the ship. I will not allow you to ruin Rebecca's engagement with your own stupidity. I certainly will not let you. You have been a little brat for too long."

"Oh, shut up, Mother! I do not care to hear you carry on and on about matters I certainly do not care about. You don't need to take care of me and Rebecca doesn't need to take care of me. I'll be fine all on my own. You can take care of Rebecca... your favorite. She is you in every way. I bet you must be so proud of how you corrupted your eldest daughter with your first class society manners." Kelly replied nastily.

Her mother raised her hand and slapped Kelly right across the face. Kelly raised her hand also, but to touch her cheek gently. She was still in shock from the stinging pain. Mother grabbed her sleeve and pulled her closer until their noses nearly touched. "This is not a game! Not at all! You will not do anything to ruin us. You will behave yourself on this voyage, or you'll have a very _very_ unpleasant life from now on..."

-------------------

Rebecca walked through the halls, nodding at people and then once she reached her suite she reached out and opened the door. When she walked in she saw her mother and Kelly standing there. With her mother still having a tight grip on her sister.

"Hello mother, Kelly," she said, but with saying Kelly a bit more colder.

"Darling Rebecca where have you been? I was so worried, now I am already sure I know the answer. Kelly dragged you off to some far off corner of the ship and you could not get away," her mother said.

"Well, no, actually mother, I wanted to take a walk around the ship. I am so sorry for not letting you know. But no worries, we were up on deck and a lovely gentlemen officer made sure I was alright," Rebecca replied.

_An officer? _Kelly thought_, Could it have been Officer Jim? That would be quite ironic..._

"Alright, well your sure you are alright? You do not have to lie to protect your sister," her mother said.

Rebecca looked at her sister then her mother. "Kelly and I may be in a disagreement right now but I am not lying. I did, in fact, wish to take a walk and asked if Kelly wanted to come. I do have to say however that she did run out of the suite as if it were on fire," Rebecca said.

"Kelly Ann! You were running? That is absurd! That is so unladylike! Where have your manners disappeared to!?" her mother screeched. Kelly said nothing. Mother grabbed her chin tightly and turned her face so she was staring straight into her eyes. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself!?"

"I felt like running. That is all. I needed a bit of exercise." Kelly explained.

Rebecca added, "You also bumper into people as you ran, and I had to apologize for you."

Kelly received another cold glare from her mother. "I do not even know where to begin yelling at you."

Kelly looked over to her sister and saw her with a smile on her face. An expression that said 'I got you, and you can't do a thing about it'. _Thanks a lot, Rebecca._

"Go to your room. Right now. Stay there until it is time to dress for dinner. And at dinner tonight I do expect you'll be on your best behavior..."

Kelly smiled fake, a look she had practiced throughout the years as a first class girl. She learned how to fool people with just a look. "Yes, mother, of course. I will indeed be a well behaved lady. I will be your little cherub." Kelly said sarcastically . Her mother nodded and Kelly went off to her bedroom.

Rebecca watched as her sister walked off.

"Mother, I am a bit famished, I was thinking maybe we could go have some tea," Rebecca said.

"Yes that sounds lovely, but first you and I should change. I suppose that even though I just sent your sister to her room she may come up to have tea with us," her mother said.

"Kelly dress for tea!" her mother called into the bedroom.

"Yes, mother," Kelly called, with a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

Rebecca and her mother went to her bedroom and Rebecca changed into one of her favorite outfits. Once they were ready the three women and their father walked up to the palm court café.

Kelly walked silently behind her mother, father, and sister. She followed obediently through the white halls. When they entered the palm court she noticed the wicker chairs and lush green potted plants by the walls. The sunlight was pouring through the windows, creating a cozy, bright atmosphere in the room.

Rebecca's mother and father sat down and she sat to the side of her father with her back to the door. Kelly sat down and then a waiter came over.

"What can I get for you today madames and sir?" the waiter asked.

"May I please have a cup of mint tea?" her mother asked.

"Yes, and for you sir?" the waiter asked their father.

"Just a glass of water please," their father replied.

"And you miss?" the waiter asked Kelly.

Kelly waved her hand to signal that she didn't want anything. "No, thank you." She muttered. Her eyes were fixed on the plate on the table, although the plate wasn't the object of her interest. She was thinking about what her mother and sister had said before.

"And you miss?" the waiter asked Rebecca

"Yes may I please have a cup of raspberry tea with some lemon on the side?" she asked.

"Certainly miss," the waiter said.

Then he turned around and walked off.

Kelly looked up from the plate and looked up towards the door. She was longing for the moment she could leave.

Suddenly, a tall and attractive man, who was wearing an officer uniform like Officer Jim Moody had on, walked into the room along with an older gentleman who Kelly assumed was the captain.

The officer looked in her direction, but wasn't quite staring at her. Kelly followed his eyes to see he was staring right at Rebecca.

Rebecca took a sip of her tea and then she noticed the officer from earlier.

_I am starting to think that man is following me_, she said, which caused her to giggle slightly.

She smiled at Harold politely as the man sat down with the captain.

Rebecca glanced at her mother who thankfully had not noticed her smiling at the officer.

Kelly was about to turn around, but she saw two more officers enter the room. One was a bit shorter than the officer who had smiled at Rebecca, and she recognized the other. It was officer Jim, as she still planned on calling him, just to tease him.

Jim looked over and saw Kelly. He managed a smile. She mouthed 'hello' silently and then also smiled.

He and the other officer who had walked in with him, sat down with the captain and the other tall officer. They were only two tables away, and Kelly listened closely to their conversation. "Hello, Mr. Murdoch, Mr. Lowe, and Mr. Moody," The captain said, "I am glad you three could join me. I had hoped to talk to you three about the ship's course..."

Kelly stopped listening there. She didn't care to hear about the ship's course. It didn't interest her in the least bit. Then she managed to hear one thing that made her heart beat speed up. "There is an ice field on the north Atlantic route, so we'll have to be careful to maneuver around it..."

_Ice_, was the one word that truly stuck in her mind.

Rebecca watched as the other two officers came in, then she turned her attention back to the conversation her mother and father were having.

But now the conversation would soon be dull as her mother was starting to talk about the wedding. The wedding of the century... she actually preferred to listen to the officers talk about the ship. But she knew her mother might get angry if she zoned out so she did her best to pay attention to the conversation.

The wedding. The subject of most family discussions lately. Kelly looked over to see her sister's less-than-thrilled face. _She is being tossed into this marriage. Mother is practically throwing her into the lion's den where Rebecca will be eaten alive. She doesn't even know the man she is marrying. How can she love a man she has never met, or even sleep with him!? I suppose she'd have to, though. Her husband would wonder why she won't 'give him any action' on the wedding night..._

Rebecca tried to stay interested in this conversation but she couldn't, she turned her head back to the table with the Captain and the three officers and watched as Harold pointed to something on a map.

Rebecca finished drinking her tea and took a small bite at a finger cookie that had been sitting on the plate in front of them.

When she looked back at the officers all of the men had left the table except for the Captain and the shorter more official looking officer. Harold was standing by the door and he seemed to be watching them. But then he turned and left the room.

"Mother, may I be excused? I wish for some air," Rebecca said suddenly.

"Of course, Rebecca. You may." mother answered.

"May I leave, as well?" Kelly asked.

"No. You have caused enough trouble lately." Mother snapped at her.

"Now, Ellen, let her go." Father interjected. Then he smiled at Kelly. Father always did like to be on Kelly's side when he could. he felt just as bad ad she did when Mother yelled at her.

"Thank you, father." she stated and hugged him. She then stared at Rebecca. I can get what I want too.

Kelly went one way, and Rebecca exited a different way.

--------------------

Rebecca walked the way Harold had gone, she looked around for him and soon found him up on deck.

"Hello Mr. Lowe," she said.

Harold turned to face her.

"Oh hello Miss. Hoffman," he said with a smile that made her want to melt.

"Looks like you and the other officers were having a grand old time talking about the ship," she said, with a laugh.

"Well yes, I like to talk about ships. Or else I would not be here," her replied.

"Yes that would make sense," she said.

Kelly walked aimlessly around the deck. She turned a corner and saw her sister talking to an officer. She decided to eavesdrop a bit.

"So I think you are following me, Rebecca," he said.

"I most certainly am not. I was in the café before you were!" she cried with a laugh.

"Ok that you were, but it looked like you and your family were having a wonderful conversation about a wedding, then you just left. I would want to stay and talk about the wedding!" he said as he restrained a laugh.

"Mr. Lowe we only met today and you are teasing me! If you wish you may go and sit with those crazy people and talk about the wedding of the century that shall be in New York city on the 30th of this month!" she replied.

"Why are you telling me when and where it is? Is that an invitation for me to come rescue you from that? I am pretty sure I won't be able to crash the wedding, but I can tell you aren't too thrilled about your wedding, are you?" Officer Lowe asked.

"You have no right to be asking me any of this. This is truly absurd. We don't know each other at all. We don't know each other nearly enough for you to begin making assumptions about my pending marriage." Rebecca said incredulously.

Harry took a step back in mock surprise. "Well, I am sorry. I do suppose you must know him more than you know me. You must have met him several times if you are engaged to him."

At this newest comment Rebecca was silent. She did not know the man she was going to be married to.

"If you must know...I have never in fact met Michael. Just the two letters he has ever sent to me. I know barely anything about him, oh but I do know that he won a prize for being the best archer at his club," she said, but saying the bit about the prize a bit sarcastically.

"He sounds like a prince," Harold said laughing.

From where she was listening in, Kelly thought, _Well, well, well. Perfect little Rebecca is sneaking off from tea to meet another man. An officer! I wonder what mother and father will think of this..._

"Yes. he is quite the prince, in my mother's opinion. She and fath arrange the whole thing. I had no say in it at all. But mother feels it would be best for me to marry a wealthy man with a good wealthy name."

"You seem to listen to your mother about everything. She says something and you just nod your head." Harry stated.

"Well what Harold? I have a choice? She's my mother! What am I supposed to do? I can imagine the conversation now. 'Mother, I have decided that I do not have the slightest care for Michael. In fact I am not marrying the man, yell and scream if you wish! I will not marry him!' Then this is what my mother would say, 'How dare you! You are my daughter! You have to marry! I want to die knowing you will be well taken care of!' Then I would reply, 'Oh you care about me? What about Kelly? She's your daughter as well! Do you not care if she marries well and if she is taken care of when you die?' Harold is that what you are saying I am supposed to say to her?!" Rebecca asked.

Harold was silent, "Well now that you put it like that. Yes exactly, she can not force you to marry him," Harold replied.

_Oh, if only mother were around to hear this. She'd have a fit. But, if I told mother about this she wouldn't believe me. She accuse me of being jealous of Rebecca. That is what always happens._ Kelly thought.

She suddenly felt a firm hand on her shoulder, and heard a voice say "This is quite remarkable."

Kelly turned abruptly and saw Officer Jim standing there. Kelly brought her hand up to her heart and leaned against the wall.

"Were you aware that you could have given me a heart attack by sneaking up behind me like that!?" She snapped at him. He didn't answer, so Kelly added, "What is so remarkable?"

"That everywhere I look I seem to see you. How many of you are there on this ship?" Jim asked.

"Sorry, there is only one of me." She giggled slightly.

Jim grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the wall. "Are you feeling better? After your little accident earlier?"

"Yes, actually, I am feeling a lot better. Thank you, Officer Jim"

"You may just call me 'Jim', if you'd like. it is a lot simpler."

Kelly's face turned slightly red. "But 'Officer Jim' is more fun for me to say. I like teasing you with that."

"I can see that. Then I will have to call you 'Miss Kelly'. Or perhaps 'Kelly Belly'."

"Oh, anything but that! My grandfather used to call me that. He was a rather silly man." Kelly replied. Then in a voice of defeat, said "I will call you 'Jim' from now on. Sorry."

"It's okay..." he paused for a moment and then looked at her, "Kel bell."

"That's fine with me. Just don't say anything about 'bellies'." She turned her nose up in fake disgust.

He laughed. "Well, I need to go back to the bridge right now. I only have 20 minutes left until I have my break. Then in four hours I have to work again, and then I am off again."

"Wow, your schedule sounds horrible. if I didn't get my regular hours of sleep I would be a very unpleasant person to talk to."

"Well, I like you like this. Because you are a pleasant person to talk to." He stated.

"You seem to be full of compliments lately. You must stop before my head gets too big." Kelly said, while laughing. Jim just nodded his head in agreement. "No, I was kidding. Don't stop." They both broke into a fit of laughter.

"I have off later tonight, would you like to go for a walk around the deck at, oh let's say, 8 o'clock?"

"I'll look forward to it."

--------------------

"Harold I know nothing of your past and what sort of parents you were raised with but for me things do not work that way!" Rebecca cried.

"And why not? For your information my parents were horrible. I ran away from home at 14," he replied.

"Well for starters I am a woman! Women have different rights than men, look Mr. Lowe it was lovely having this conversation but I really should go. I do not need my mother thinking something is happening to me. Plus...she will want to look over the seating arrangements," Rebecca said.

"Very well. Go and enjoy your seating arrangements, but I need you to do me a favor," he said.

Rebecca looked at him like he was insane, "Yes?" she asked.

"Tell me your room number so that I may escort you to dinner tonight," he replied.

Rebecca gave him another look, but instead of letting her better judgement answer her heart answered.

"I'm in room A-34," she said softly.

"Very well, I will pick you up at six-forty five," he said.

Rebecca nodded and then walked away.

--------------------

Kelly went on her way back to their stateroom and she saw nobody in the corridor. Then, suddenly, a man turned around the corner and was coming her way. it was George who she had seen earlier on deck.

"Hello George." She said politely with a slight smile.

"Well, hello Kelly. Isn't this a treat? I get to see you not just once, but two times today! Extraordinary!" he said exuberantly.

"Seeing me isn't that great. Wherever I go trouble tends to follow."

"Kelly, I was wondering, if I may escort you to dinner tonight. I am sure our families will be seated at the same table, and we are old friends. You have nobody else to escort you down the magnificent grand staircase, so if I may have the honor of doing so..."

Kelly thought for a moment. _Well, he did used to be the friend when we were younger. A lot younger. But that was 5 or more years ago... Oh, what the hell, I'll just do it. it isn't as though I were accepting a marriage proposal_. "Sure, why not." She answered.

"Splendid. I shall see you tonight. I always do look forward to any chance I get to be standing next to a beautiful young woman like yourself." He stated.

They both said 'goodbye' and walked off in their own directions.

--------------------

Rebecca made her way down the staircase and to the corridor which led to her suite in silence. She was thinking about the conversation she and Harold had, had about Michael.

When she reached the start of the hall she saw her sister standing there and a man walking off.

"Hello Kelly," she said softly as she approached her.

Kelly turned to look at her sister.

"Well look at what the cat dragged in," Kelly said, trying to be as rude to her sister as possible.

"Kelly, I am sorry about earlier, we are fighting and I really do not wish for fights. Especially considering that after this wedding I will probably only have the friends that my husband wants me around. I do not want to lose my sister," Rebecca said softly.

Kelly was taken aback by Rebecca's apology. She sighed and didn't look at Rebecca. "You will never lose your sister. I'll always be there when you need me, or even when you get so annoyed and want to get rid of me. I will always be here. That is, of course, unless mother ships me off to a boarding school someplace."

Rebecca smiled "If you keep up with this attitude then I am sure she will."

"I suppose I was a bit rude to you, and I assume that you are expecting me to apologize. So, I do apologize."

"All is forgiven. How about my apology?"

"Apology accepted." Kelly stated.

"Good." Rebecca said. "We should go now. We'll have to dress for dinner."

"We are going back to the fire depths of Hell where our Mother is!"

They both laughed a bit at that. They both walked peacefully back to their room.

As they approached the room Rebecca began to think about how she was going to tell her mother that a man had asked if he could escort her to dinner.

Rebecca opened the door, inside the room her father was at the desk writing something and her mother was on the sofa reading what looked to be a 'White Star Line' booklet.

"Hello mother," Rebecca said, trying to sound pleasant.

"Hello darling Rebecca. Kelly," her mother said, but saying 'Kelly' a bit coldly.

"We were about to send out a search for you. You both need to begin to dress for dinner," their mother said.

"Yes we know, which mother that reminds me. Earlier I made friends with a gentlemen and he thought that as a 'favor' for Michael he would escort me to dinner. Just to keep me safe from prying eyes," she said, but of course lying about Harold wanting to take her to dinner to make sure no man tried to talk to her. Harold had of course asked to escort her for the pure reason he liked her.

But Rebecca of course thought he only liked her as a friend.

"Oh well that was very polite of him, engaged or not it is not quite proper for a woman of your age to be walking around let alone walking around a ship without some sort of gentlemen on your arm," her mother replied.

Rebecca nodded and then she went to her bedroom and her maid followed so that she may prepare for dinner. Kelly as well went into her suite, forgetting to even mention that George had asked to escort her. So she went into her bedroom with another one of the maids and began to dress for dinner.

Soon enough Rebecca heard a knocking on the door.

"That must be the man who is going to escort you to dinner," the maid said.

Rebecca looked to her door.

"Must be," she said aloud.

"Well he is going to have to wait. I have not finished with your rouge and your hair," the maid replied.

"Well hello sir," her mothers voice said loud enough that it went through the door.

"Hello Mrs. Hoffman, I am Harold Lowe. I have come to escort your daughter Rebecca to dinner," Harold's voice said.

The maid finished with her makeup and simply put Rebecca's hair up and added a jewel into it. Then Rebecca walked into the main sitting room of the suite.

"Hello mother, hello Harold," she said with a smile.

Harold gaped at her, "You look ravishing," he said breathlessly.

Her mother looked from Harold to her now grinning daughter.

"Well, Mr. Lowe, please do come in. There is no need for a man as polite as you to be standing in the doorway." Mother said and pointed to the couch in the middle of the room for him to sit down.

Mother sat down as well, and so did Rebecca. "Rebecca, darling, what is taking that sister of yours so long?"

"I have not the faintest idea," Rebecca replied, but not looking at her mother. Looking at the rather handsome Harold.

"Rebecca?!" her mother asked.

"Yes?" Rebecca asked as she tore her gaze to her mother.

"Would you get your sister please?" her mother asked, rather impatiently.

Rebecca nodded and stood to go and get her sister.

"Kelly," she called as she entered the room.

"Yes?" Kelly answered, while the maid, Annie tied her hair back neatly. She was sitting in front of a dimly lit mirror.

"Harold is here to escort me. Mother is growing impatient," she said, saying impatient in a melodramatic way.

"Come," she said as she turned and went back into the sitting room.

"So Mr. Lowe, what exactly do you do?" her mother asked.

"Well ma'am I am a officer on the ship," Harold replied.

Mother began to laugh politely. "Oh, what a sense of humor you have. An officer? Ha! Really, what is it that you do?"

Harold folded his hands neatly in his lap. "I just told you, ma'am. I am a ship's officer."

Rebecca froze, she knew this would be coming. Once her mother found out about Harold being an officer she would be polite but she would let Rebecca have it when they returned from dinner.

"Oh...how, wonderful," her mother lied.

"Well mother if we do not leave now we will be late for dinner," Rebecca said, trying to break the odd silence that had fallen.

"Yes, it is already seven minutes till," her father said.

Harold stood up and just as he did Kelly walked into the room.

"Kelly if we are late I blame you," her mother said as she turned all eyes to her sister.

"Oh mother they can not sue us if we are late," Rebecca said as she tried to defend her sister.

Her parents walked out of the room followed by Kelly. Once in the hall Harold held his arm out for Rebecca which she took and they began to walk to the dining saloon.

They made their way towards the Grand staircase. Kelly would sometimes look over at Harold and Rebecca and saw them smiling at each other. _There is definitely something going on here_, Kelly thought.

--------------------

**Hello! Once again, thanks for reading. Chapter 3 is already written and we'll post it tomorrow. Please review! We luff reviews! And the more reviews we receive the happier we'll be. lol. Chapter 3 will be posted soon! Thanks!**


	3. What Makes You Tick

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

_**Chapter 3**_

At the top of the staircase, stood George, along with his father and mother. "Good evening, Kelly." George greeted kindly.

"Good evening." She said back. Then she looked at his parents.

"Kelly? Kelly Hoffman? It has been so long since we've seen you." Mrs. Morley stated.

"It is lovely to see you again, Mrs. Morley." Kelly said.

Kelly saw her father shaking hands with Mr. Morley. And her mother had struck up a conversation with Mrs. Morley. Harold and Rebecca seemed to be in their own little world.

George put out his arm and Kelly linked her arm with his. "You look lovely tonight." He whispered to her.

"Thanks." She said unenthusiastically.

"This is quite a coincidence, that we all ended up on the ship together." Mrs. Morley announced.

"We haven't talked since Kelly was sent to a private all girl school when she was 12. It was a shame that we didn't keep in touch. Kelly and George were good friends back then." Mother stated.

"Remember, Ellen, how we always though that our children were bound to get married to each other one day?"

Kelly was surprised. "What!?"

"Oh, don't worry, dear. That was a long time ago. When you were seven years old. Nearly ten years ago, actually." Mrs. Morley laughed. "I remember one day when George went to your house and asked your mother for your hand in marriage! It was so cute. Only 7 years old and already asking a young lady to marry him! It was adorable."

Kelly smirked and whispered to George. "I'm glad I missed that moment."

"I'm glad you did too." he replied.

"You wanted to marry me!? What is that all about!?" She hissed.

"Forgive me. I was only seven."

Rebecca and Harold were whispering their own conversation into each others ears. Totally oblivious to the fact that someone had begun to talk to them.

"And is that Rebecca? Little Rebecca?!" Mrs. Morley exclaimed.

At this point Harold and Rebecca were making a whispered comment about Michael and was still oblivious to the new woman in the group.

"Rebecca?" her mother asked politely.

Rebecca let out a giggle at the joke Harold was making.

"Rebecca?!" her mother asked again, this time a little louder.

This time Rebecca turned her head to the call of her voice.

Oh mother, I am so sorry. What did you say?" she asked, trying not to laugh at Harold's joke.

"Mrs. Morley said something to you," her mother replied in her normal cool voice again.

Rebecca looked to her sister who was whispering something to a man who she had not seen before. Then the man and women who must of been the parents of the man.

"Morley...Morley...Oh my heavens! Yes of course, now I remember you. Your son is the one who asked for Kelly's hand in marriage when they were young. Oh it's so lovely to see you again!" Rebecca said politely.

Kelly's face went red at the fact her sister knew about this proposal.

"You have grown so much Rebecca! I remember you when you were so little! Now you and your sister both have grown into beautiful young women. And may I ask who is this handsome young man who is escorting you?" Mrs. Morley said.

Rebecca looked to Harold.

"This is Harold Lowe, he is the fifth officer here on the Titanic," Rebecca answered proudly.

"Oh marrying into the sea? Well Mr. Lowe as I said I knew her when she was a child, she is sure to be a wonderful women now," Mrs. Morley said.

"Oh they are not marrying!" Rebecca and Kelly's mother said, rather loudly than usual.

"Oh?" Mrs. Morley asked

"No, they just met today. Rebecca's fiancee is waiting for us in New York. Harold is just being a gentlemen and taking her to dinner, it is improper for a woman engaged or not to be seen without a gentlemen on her arm," her mother answered.

"Mother they are about to close the doors," Kelly said suddenly.

"Oh dear," her mother said.

"Come, come we need to get in there," her mother said as they rushed towards the dining saloon.

Harold and Rebecca were the last ones into the room, following at a decent pace but far away so that they could have a conversation without mother butting in.

A little ways ahead George was making small talk with Kelly, but none of it was of interest to her. He merely spoke of how he has spent his life since they last met. Kelly was more interested in this blooming relationship her sister was developing with this Harold Lowe character. She decided that if she got the chance she would have to ask Officer Jim about him.

At the thought of Officer Jim she smiled. Her little nick name she had for him, 'Officer'.

They finally sat down, with Kelly in between her mother and George. Father was beside mother and then Mr. and Mrs. Morley,

Then a couple who they were soon informed was J.J Astor and his wife Madeline, and also the Master Shipbuilder Thomas Andrews, and then Harold and her sister and then a man they knew from the portrait that had been in the White Star Line offices when they purchased their tickets, Bruce Ismay.

A waiter came by and filled all of the glasses with champagne and then gave them all the choice of a appetizer.

Rebecca ordered and after Harold ordered they continued their private conversation as the people around the table began to converse with one another.

Kelly put her elbow on the table so she could hold her head up. She wasn't tired, just bored.

"Kelly Ann!" mother hissed. "Get your elbow off the table. Where are your manners?"

Kelly took her elbow off the table and folded her hands in her lap. George gave her a sympathetic look. She sighed._ My manners are back in England._

Kelly glanced over across the table at Rebecca. She saw that Mr. Lowe and Rebecca were whispering to each other. She also noticed that the smile never left her sister's face. _Now this is the man that Rebecca should be engaged to. Not this Michael guy. She hardly knows the man. I hardly know him too, but I am beginning to think this is Officer could be the best thing for her._

This feeling that Rebecca was having was strange. She had just met this officer this morning and yet she felt like she knew him for a lifetime.

They were whispering to each other at the moment about their lives. He was in the middle of telling her about how and why he ran away from home at 14 when the waiter came by and asked what they wished for, for dinner. Rebecca ordered the Salmon and white rice and then once Harold ordered they continued their conversation, not seeing the glares that her mother was sending over.

Mother never took her eyes of Rebecca and Harold. _They seem close. A bit too close. I find something quite unsettling about the relationship he has with my daughter. It shall go no further than acquaintances. He will not wreck everything we have set for Rebecca's future_, Mother thought.

"Mr. Lowe?" Mother said.

Harold looked away from Rebecca and looked to her mother. "Yes, Mrs. Hoffman?"

"Where is it that currently reside?" She asked, trying to act sweet.

"Well, I was born in Wales. I ran away from home when I was 14 years old. I told my father I wasn't going to work for nothing. Then I started working on ships and here I am now, on the RMS Titanic. I pretty much live nowhere and everywhere. I may be a ship's officer, but traveling comes with the job description. And I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world."

Mother's fake smile dropped until it became an unsatisfied frown. "How much do you get from your mere officer's pay?" she asked. Kelly was shocked at her mother's audacity. "Mother!" She hissed.

Mother just ignored Kelly.

Harold kept his calm composure. "I don't think that is really your business ma'am. I do not ask you how much money you earn."

"Mr. Lowe, I don't earn money. it isn't a woman's place. Mr. Hoffman is the one who makes the family's money." She replied with a laugh.

_Oh Lord,_ Rebecca thought silently.

_Oh my Lord, why mother? Why do you have to be so rude?!_ she thought.

"Well mother no you do not earn the money in the house, father does but Harold is right. That really is something for him to keep to himself, it is his business and the business of the White Star Line," Rebecca said finally.

Her mother looked at her.

"Harold it really is wonderful that you could join us for dinner," Thomas Andrews said, causing the odd silence that had fallen at the table to be broken.

"Thank you sir," Harold replied to the shipbuilder.

"Mr. Lowe, how old are you?" mother asked.

"I'm twenty-nine, ma'am." He answered.

"So you are pretty much too old to change careers. Working on ships is the path you've chosen?" Mother asked rudely.

"Mother! Stop it!" Kelly whispered with a biting edginess to her voice.

"Well yes ma'am, it is the life I chose at fourteen. If I did not enjoy the work I would not of taken the job. It is a real pleasure working with ships," he replied, still being his polite self.

Rebecca let out a soft sigh, this was not going well. At this point she wanted to get Harold as far away from her mother as possible before she decided he was a threat and decided to scream for the master at arms or some crazy scheme that her mother might devise.

To her relief two waiters came pushing a cart which held everyone's meals. She was handed her food and after saying a silent blessing she began to eat, hoping that mothers lamb would keep her distracted until dinner was over and she could get Harold to safety.

Mother turned her cold stare to her lamb and took a small bite from the meat.

"Harold I am so sorry," she whispered into his ear.

"It's alright Becca, there is nothing your mother can dish out that I can not dish right back. Do not worry," he said softly just so that they could hear.

He cut his food and they ate. At this point Rebecca wished her sister had been seated beside her so that she could vent in soft whispers to her about how angry she was.

Dinner went on without a problem. Almost. Mother didn't stop staring at Rebecca and Harold. She didn't ask anymore rude questions. Father didn't do anything to stop her. He always just stayed out if it. He knew there was no use in fighting with her so he sat there quietly, enjoying his vegetable soup.

When dinner was finally over, George stood up first and helped pull out Kelly's chair for her, and took her hand to help her get up. He didn't even notice her rolling her eyes.

Harold did the same. "Thanks for the pleasure of your company" He said to her sweetly.

"Likewise." She replied with a giggle.

He kissed the back of her hand gently. She giggled once again with the youthful joyfulness of a young girl.

Mother stood off at the other side of the table with father, pretending to be enjoying the conversation that Bruce Ismay was having with her. But she could not tear her gaze from the interaction that was occurring between her daughter and Harold.

At the sight of the kiss on the hand she thought it was just him being a gentlemen, but then at the sounds of Rebecca's giggles she got infuriated.

There was no way her daughter could be enjoying this mans company. He was a seamen who ran away from home at fourteen! From what she could gather he must make a little amount of money, and he had no residence. He also said he would not give up the sea for anything, so Rebecca could not be with him even if he did make more money than Michael.

Harold said goodnight to Rebecca and then turned around and walked out of the dining saloon, glancing back at Rebecca at least twice. When mother was finished talking to Bruce father went to the smoking room with the rest of the men and after Kelly managed to think of an excuse to get away Rebecca and her mother walked back to the suite in silence.

When they entered the room the three maids were no where to be found, more than likely eating dinner. But mother did not mind, she wanted a moment alone with her daughter.

"Rebecca I do not approve of this relationship you seem to be having with Mr. Lowe," her mother said.

"What? Mother were just friends!" she replied as she took a jewel out of her hair.

"I do not care! Sweetheart we are going to be in New York in less than a week. Then you and Michael will be wed, please do not sabotage this by getting involved deeper with Mr. Lowe," her mother said.

"Mother, I swear to you we are just friends. I know that I am marrying Michael. But can't I just be friends with Harold without being accused of something more?" Rebecca asked.

"I suppose, but he was so rude! I am his elder and I asked him a question and he did not answer it!" mother cried.

"Well really though mother, it really is not your business. Plus he more than likely did not want the entire ship knowing how much fifth officers working for the White Star Line earn. But I will not tell you how much he makes, but he told me and it is a fair amount. But really, it is none of our business," Rebecca replied.

"Yes, I suppose. Well lets get you into your night gown, you need your rest. It is the best thing a woman of your age can get right now," her mother said, with still a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

Rebecca nodded and then with some assistance from her mother and the appearance of her maid they got her undressed and into her night gown and then after scrubbing all of her makeup off she got into bed.

-----------------------

Kelly walked to the bridge, to see if Jim was there. He never specified where he would meet her. She saw him up ahead of her, but he was turned around and couldn't see her. She snuck up on him and covered his eyes with her hands. "Guess who?" she said.

"Kelly?" He guessed.

Without removing her hands she said "How did you know?"

"I recognize your voice." He replied.

"Guess who?" she said again in a deeper voice.

"Captain Smith?" he guessed. Kelly took her hands away and put her hands on hips. He laughed. "Just kidding. I knew it was you all along."

"Well, aren't you quite the charmer."

"Yes, I find myself to be rather debonair." He said and stuck his head up high.

Kelly giggled. "I had to make up an excuse to get away from my mother. She gives me such headaches. Most of the time I just want to... ugh! I want to yank my hair out! I want to scream and stomp around! I want to jump into the ocean and swim into the horizon, never looking back!"

"You mother sounds... interesting." He stated.

"And she was so rude tonight at dinner. To a young man, you might know him. Mr. Lowe. Mr. Harold Lowe?"

"I know him! He is the officer above me. I am the sixth officer and he is the fifth. We know each other pretty well."

"Well, now you can ask him about how terrible my mother was to him!"

Jim laughed. "I can only imagine the type of things he said back."

"Oh, nothing peculiar. Just anything smart that he could come up with. It didn't seem like he had to work hard to sound polite. And he has certainly won over my sister."

"Harry has that effect on most women. All the women love him for his smile and boyish good looks. I'm almost jealous."

"Why would you be jealous? You are equally as charming, debonair, witty, and you, too, have your share of boyish good looks."

"Oh, is that a compliment? Thank you, Kelly. You aren't so bad looking yourself."

"Thanks, 'Officer Jim'!" She teased.

"Your welcome, 'Kel Bell'!" He said in the same tone as she did.

"What is it that you officer's do when you aren't working?" Kelly asked.

"We usually sleep. Working with such strange hours is hard on the brain. We wake up for a few hours, sleep for a few hours, then work for a few hours. it is a cycle that doesn't stop. but we've all adapted to it."

"You never do anything for fun?" she asked.

"We do. But nothing you'd be interested in."

Kelly raised an eyebrow "And how would you know that?"

He shrugged. "Well, you don't seem like the type."

"Just tell me."

"We play poker." He said.

Kelly replied, "I've been playing since I was 12."

"We drink beer."

"I've drank a few in my lifetime, but I was always afraid mother might find out."

"We spit."

"I've been spitting since I was born." she answered.

"We also curse like sailors."

"I've been cursing since I could talk."

Then he stated. "We also scratch ourselves in unmentionable places."

Kelly stuttered. "Well, that is a bit too much information."

They both burst out laughing.

"Maybe I could hang out with you and the other officers. Kick all your asses at poker and spitting contests. I could likely also get as drunk as the rest of you. Although I do tend to get a bit 'loose' when I drink. Once I got in so much trouble. I was 11 years old and wanted to see what it was like to get drunk, so my friend back then, George, and I drank and got so sick. Mother was furious. You'd never see anyone turn that shade of red."

"We're not supposed to be drinking while working. It might impair our judgement and we may mistake a bird for an iceberg or something." Jim stated.

"Well, I could just get drunk and the rest of you can watch. Perhaps I'll dance on a table in nothing but my undergarments. That would show mother. Hah, I can imagine her facial expression now." She stated with a laugh.

"You are rather spiteful, aren't you?"

"I suppose. I am also just wishing that bitch of a mother I have will just get what she deserves and get out of my life. She doesn't care about me one bit, so why should I care about her?"

"I don't know. She sounds like maybe she is just trying to look out for you." Jim said.

"You obviously haven't met my mother at all. Ask your friend Harold about her. I am sure he can paint a lovely picture of her personality for you."

"You are a real spitfire. Fierce tempered and quick witted. And yet very fascinating." he looked right into her eyes.

"Thank you. You are fascinating too. Perhaps people can study you someday, find out what makes you tick."

"Get to know me more. You'll know what makes me tick." He stated flirtatiously.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kelly asked as Jim turned to walk away.

"Figure it out." he said with joy in his voice. Kelly just stood their smiling. "Goodnight, Kelly." he said, not turning to look at her."

"Goodnight, 'Officer Jim'." She whispered, although he couldn't hear it.

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**Hey! Thanks for reading chapter 3! We hope you like it so far. We already had the first three chapters written, and the fourth is only half written. So we'll finish the fourth chapter up and get it up as soon as possible. We really want/need/thirst for/hunger for/desire reviews. Good reviews or bad ones. Just give us your opinion. We'll also try to reply as best we can. Thanks! Please review. We'll post chapter 4 as soon as possible. Love ya!**


	4. Uncomfortable

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

_**Chapter 4**_

The next morning Rebecca woke with the sounds of her mothers voice.

She blinked slightly and looked at the woman who was preparing a bowl of water to wash her face.

"Well Rebecca I am glad I did not have to pour this on you to wake you up," her mother said.

"Oh, what time is it?" she asked as she pulled the blankets off of her and slowly stood out of bed.

"About fifteen minutes until 8:30, we need to get you and your sister up and bathed so that you will be presentable for breakfast," her mother said.

Rebecca got her hairbrush and began to brush her hair while her mother got a dress out of the wardrobe. A few minutes later Kelly came into the room while Rebecca was getting her corset tied up.

"Good morning," she said with just a little bit of joy in her voice.

"Good morning," Rebecca replied.

Isabelle, who was Rebecca's maid, finished tying up her corset with one last tight jerk which almost caused Rebecca to fall backwards when she let go of her.

"Damn corsets," she muttered under her breath while a pink dress was put over her head.

Kelly was getting her corset tied too. Every tight tug on the corset caused Kelly to draw in a sharp, short breath. She closed her eyes and endured it, as usual.

Annie, the maid, picked out a teal colored dress and helped Kelly get changed into it. A green emerald necklace hung around Kelly's neck. She could remember when she received it as a gift from her father on her 13th birthday. Now she brought it with her all the time, so she could be reminded that at least one of her parents loves her.

"So Kelly, where did you go off to last night?" Rebecca asked.

Kelly just mumbled something and said "Nowhere."

"Kelly you and I both know you are a horrible liar," Rebecca replied as she eyed her sister.

"I went for a walk, that's it." Kelly avoided eye contact with her sister.

Rebecca eyed her sister a moment longer but then lost train of thought as Isabelle pulled her hair into a very tight knot.

"I went for a walk," Kelly explained, "and I bumped into someone who I had seen earlier. I talked and that's all. There, that is the honest truth."

Rebecca smiled. "Did you go to see George Morley?"

"What!? Hell no!" Kelly answered.

Rebecca shot a look at the door.

"Kelly! Mother will hear, we only just woke up. I do not want to deal with her issues," Rebecca snapped.

"Yes. Sorry." Kelly lowered her voice to a whisper. "But why would you think I was going to see George? He is extremely boring and irritating."

"He has money and he is polite." Rebecca pointed out.

"I don't want politeness and money. I want adventure and true love. but I'm sure as hell not going to find that with mother standing in my way all the time."

"Kelly join the club," Rebecca said with a sigh as her thoughts went to Harold and the kiss he had planted on her hand the night before. At that thought her eyes went to the spot her had left the kiss and she stood there while rouge was applied to her face and she stared at her hand.

"Wait, what about you? Don't lie to me, I know something is going on between you and this Harold Lowe character."

Rebecca was silent as she contemplated on how to reply to her sister.

"Well he is a fine man, and good company. That is all really," Rebecca said. If anything she was a brilliant liar compared to her sister.

Kelly lifted her eyebrow in a questioning manner. "I think he is a good man, from what I could see last night. I feel terrible about what mother said to him. I'll bet he told Jim everything!"

"Jim? Who's he?" Rebecca inquired.

"What? Jim is just some guy I met on deck." Kelly tried to suppress a smile, but failed miserably.

"So that is who you went to see last night?" Rebecca asked, but with speaking she let out a sight of relief as Isabelle finally left her and her face alone.

"Possibly. But nothing happened. So you may wipe that dirty smirk off your face. I saw him, we talked, and then we said goodnight."

"No goodnight kiss?" Rebecca teased.

"No!" Kelly whispered sharply.

"I never saw you come in last night. You could have been up all night with him, for all I know."

"I wasn't. What kind of girl do you think I am? I was on the deck. I wouldn't be caught alone with an older man!"

"How much older?"

"I'm not sure. but he has to be a few years older than me."

"Well then you should probably find out," Rebecca said as there was a knock on the door.

"Who in the world is that?" Rebecca thought out loud.

"Rebecca dear, you have a...visitor," her mother called, with a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

Before leaving the room Rebecca looked at her sister.

"I wonder who would visit me," she said.

"Harold would," Kelly said as Rebecca left the room.

When Rebecca walked up to the door there sure enough was Harold making small talk with her father. Her mother was sitting on the sofa eying the man.

"Harold do you not ever work?" Rebecca joked.

"Well I do, in fact I am about to go to my morning shift. Since I have to work I wanted to just see if you need a escort. As your mother said, a woman married or not should never be seen without some sort of escort," Harold said.

Rebecca smiled at him, "Well I am sure mother would not mind. You are just in time too. We were just about to go up. I believe Kelly just needs something and then we were going to go up. But mother we could go up ahead while you wait for Kelly. She is such a slow poke in the morning," Rebecca said.

"If she doesn't hurry up we'll just leave her behind entirely." Mother said, sounding utterly and thoroughly annoyed. "Kelly Ann Hoffman!" She yelled.

Rebecca rolled her eyes to Harold. "why does she feel the need to yell?" she whispered.

Kelly appeared, dressed and ready for the day. But she looked tired. "I'm here, mother, don't give yourself a heart attack." Kelly joked.

Rebecca suppressed her laughter.

"Then are we ready to go?" she asked.

"Yes. I suppose we are." Mother stated. Then they all began to walk out of the room, Mother stood behind and grabbed Kelly's arm roughly.

"Where were you last night?" She snapped.

"I was walking." Kelly answered calmly.

"Walking? A young lady shouldn't be walking outside, all alone, on an unfamiliar ship." Mother said.

"Yeah, like you'd care if I got raped or murdered by some desperate steerage passenger." Kelly quipped.

Rebecca and Harold walked arm in arm, but when she did not see her mother walking ahead like she always did she turned to see where she was. When she saw her mother with Kelly and the rough way she seemed to be holding her she almost froze.

"Oh Lord," she muttered.

"What is it?" Harold asked.

"My mother is talking to Kelly, that is never a good thing. Especially since Kelly can be quite mean when she has not had food and enough sleep. Not that I'm saying mother doesn't deserve it. She deserves every little bit," Rebecca replied.

"One moment," she continued. Then she turned around and walked up to her mother and sister.

"Mother, Kelly, we will be late. Kelly, would you like to walk with us?" Rebecca asked as she sent Kelly a look trying to say 'come on I'm trying to save you!'.

Kelly followed Rebecca back up towards Harold. "Thank you." Kelly whispered gratefully.

"Anytime." Rebecca replied.

Kelly turned to Harold "Mr. Lowe, do you know Officer Jim Moody?" She whispered to him.

"Yes, I know him." Harold answered. He paused for a moment to think. "You were with him last night, right?"

"How did you know?" Kelly asked.

"I saw you two walking around the deck. Also, he wouldn't stop talking about you. He said you told him to ask me about how your mother was acting towards me."

"And what did you say?" she inquired.

"I told him that she was pleasant." Harold replied.

"Are you insane!?"

"Then he noticed I was lying so I told him that she was a bitch."

They both let out a small laugh. "Now that is more like it."

Rebecca also let out a laugh, "Harold just so you know my mother does in fact have excellent hearing and you did not exactly whisper that," Rebecca said.

They all looked over their shoulders to see mother giving them all a quite evil stare. But they all just laughed anyway.

"You think she heard?" Rebecca whispered.

"No, she always has that sour look on her face."

Rebecca laughed again.

"So, lets slow down the pace. I really do not want to sit in there as soon as possible. Breakfast with mother is a horrid thing," Rebecca said.

"Yes. indeed." Kelly stated. Then she stuck her head high up and tried to imitate mother "Don't crack your knuckles! Elbows off the table! Your using the wrong fork!" and then Rebecca and Kelly said the last one together at the same time, "Don't scratch yourselves there, it's not polite!"

Harry was surprised. "Have you girls practiced that?"

Rebecca and Kelly exchanged looks, "Possibly..." they said in perfect unison.

"So, you girls are a lot alike." Harold stated.

"No!" bother girls said at the same time again.

"We are so opposite." Kelly said. Rebecca nodded in agreement. "Mother hates me so much, but she adores Rebecca. I am the trouble maker and the embarrassment of the family. Dear Rebecca here can do no wrong."

Those words hurt Rebecca.

At that note Rebecca decided to turn her head in a different way so that she was not entirely part of the conversation.

"How old would your friend, Officer Moody, be?" Kelly asked.

"Jim is twenty four." he answered. Kelly's eyes widened. _Jim is 7 years older than me! Is he too old? _

"Rebecca?" Kelly asked and turned to her sister. "Are you alright?"

Rebecca turned and looked at Kelly, "What? Oh yes I'm fine. I was just thinking about what I am going to order for breakfast," she lied.

"Oh, okay then." Kelly turned back to Harold and was lost in a conversation with him.

A few moments later they arrived at the breakfast hall where it was all set up. Kelly went ahead with her parents while Harold and Rebecca said bye.

"Well thank you for escorting me," she said.

He was going to kiss the back of her hand again, but saw her mother glaring at them fiercely. He instead turned it into a hand shake and whispered to her, "Meet me on the boat deck, just aft of the gymnasium, at 2 o'clock today."

She nodded and he walked off silently.

Rebecca turned around and entered the room. She took her seat next to her mother.

"Why was Mr. Lowe leaning so close to you, dear?" Mother asked.

"Oh, mother, he was only telling me that I look nice." Rebecca replied.

Mother just looked at her. "I don't like you spending so much time with this boy."

"Mother, I've only known him for a day. I do not think I am spending too much time with him. He has only escorted me and I am appreciative of that."

Rebecca looked down at her plate and then to Kelly who was on the other side of her. "Kel?" She whispered, "Kelly?" She whispered again a bit more harshly to try to get Kelly's attention.

"What?" Kelly whispered back.

"What did you mean when you told Harold that I can do no wrong? Do you actual think that I am perfect or something?"

"Perhaps." Kelly answered. Rebecca looked at her incredulously. "Well, you have to admit mother does adore you more than she does I. She doesn't love me as much as she loves you and she surely doesn't have the same high hopes for me as she does for you."

"I suppose you are right. But, I'm not trying to be like that. I'm really not." Rebecca pleaded.

Kelly smiled. "It's alright, really. I know you don't mean to be like that. It's is the fact that 'mother dearest' is playing favorites. It's unfair."

"I hate how she treats you."

"Believe me, so do I." Kelly stated softly. "So do I" she said again while staring down at her lap.

Rebecca turned back to her plate and saw that there was a stack of fluffy pancakes there. She began to eat, and she washed it down with a warm cup of tea. _Poor Kelly. How could mother treat her like that? What is it that made mother so cold and bitter? And why is her bitterness always aimed toward Kelly?_

Kelly was silently eating.

"Rebecca, darling, you'll look just lovely in that white wedding gown we came across in London, don't you think so?" Mother asked.

Rebecca resisted the urge to roll her eyes, waiting until her mother would shut up.

Mother kept going on about the wedding until breakfast was over. Then she complained she was tired and went to go rest. She and father walked off.

Kelly and Rebecca stood there and watched their parents walk off. "Don't get lost" mother said, but other than that they were on their own for a few hours.

"What is there to do on this ship?" Kelly asked.

"There is the reading and writing room, the gymnasium, the Turkish baths, the pool, and some other stuff. But none of that exactly interests me."

"Let's go to the pool and splash the elderly people!" Kelly exclaimed.

"Kelly, just stay out of trouble, okay?" Rebecca asked.

"Me? Get in trouble? That is absurd. I am a perfect little angel." Kelly said sarcastically.

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go find Harold Lowe. I'd like to talk to him."

"Ooh..." Kelly said in a taunting voice.

"Oh, stop it Kelly. You cannot be immature forever!" Rebecca walked off.

Kelly turned to go in the opposite direction, but immediately bumped into something. She looked up and saw George standing there. "Oh, sorry Kelly." he said nervously.

"No problem." She replied kindly.

"Hey Kel, you want to go for a walk?" he asked shyly.

"Sure, why not. I don't have anything else to do today."

He held out his arm, just being polite. They walked, arms linked, out of the room and to the boat deck.

The air had a bit of a chill to it. But it wasn't too bad. It was only the wind that was troublesome.

George kept staring at Kelly. Kelly kept staring at the deck. "So, nice weather we're having, right?" he said, trying to strike up a conversation.

Kelly nodded. "Mhm."She muttered in agreement. "Lovely weather. Not a drop of rain all day."

There was an awkward silence. "How is your..." George needed a moment to think. "Dog?" He asked, remembering the little puppy Kelly used to have as a child.

"Um, George, I'm sorry to tell you this, but Bedford died." Kelly stated sadly.

"Oh, he did?" George asked.

"Yeah, about 4 years ago." Kelly said.

"Oh, so I guess that means he isn't doing well?"

"Well, no. He's not doing well, George. He's dead. He is kind of in a hole in the ground and his face is being eaten away by worms. I wouldn't consider that to be 'doing well'."

"I'm sorry for your loss." He stated mournfully.

"It's okay, really. It was 4 years ago. I'm over it by now. But thank you for your sympathy." Kelly said, feeling awkward.

There was another long awkward silence.

Suddenly they saw a young officer walking towards them. It was Jim. "Good morning, Kelly. And good morning to you, sir."

Jim stuck out his hand to George. They shook hands. "I'm George Morley." He said.

"I'm James Moody. I'm an officer." Jim stated proudly.

George commented, "I thought you were. The uniform makes it a bit obvious."

"Well, now that we're all good and properly introduced, would you care to join us??"

Jim answered "I am on my rounds right now, but I can join you, surely."

Kelly held out her other arm and Jim held onto it. Now she was between them both, and the three of them continued to walk.

George had a bit of a disappointed look about him, as well as some jealousy mixed in.

"So, Mr. Morley," Jim said, attempting to break the silence, "How long have you known Kelly for?"

"Since we were young children. Our fathers were old college buddies and they got us together one day. We've been close ever since." George stated proudly.

Jim eyed him suspiciously, "I see." He said while nodding.

They kept on walking, arm in arm. People would smile as they passed, since a smile and a nod was polite. George would smile back, and then turn back to see Jim whispering something to Kelly, and then she would giggle sweetly. Oh, how he wished he could make her laugh like that.

-------------------

Rebecca walked in silence as she searched the ship looking for Harold.  
"Miss. Hoffman it is truly not safe for a young woman as lovely as yourself to be wandering around this ship by yourself. Especially without a gentlemen to be holding your arm. It simply is not done!" a voice from behind Rebecca said.  
Rebecca grinned and turned to face the voice.  
"For your information Mr. Lowe I was in a search for you," Rebecca replied in a mock high class voice.  
"Well Miss. Hoffman, is something the matter? I seem to remember we made plans for two o'clock, it is only ten o'clock," he said in his own mock high society voice.  
"No nothing remotely dangerous, I just wanted to get away from that woman. She started talking about my wedding dress again," Rebecca said, this time in her regular voice.

Harold nodded in understanding and held his arm out for her. She took the arm and they began to walk."Well actually Rebecca I wish I could listen but I'm on duty. Captain Smith sent me on the duty of fetching his tea. Yesterday I had to do it right after I saw you for the first time. I was quite angry, then last night I had to fetch it again.

So that's where I am headed now, to fetch his tea. You could come along if you like, there is nothing that fancy about the kitchens on this ship," Harold explained.

"I'd love to." Rebecca replied with a grin.  
They walked to go get the tea, arm in arm. Harold had his head up high and was trying to act snobby. He even nodded to first class passengers they passed. To Rebecca's surprise, they all nodded back politely.

Rebecca laughed slightly as he raised his head higher.  
They reached the kitchens and after a brief argue that Rebecca could come in the kitchen Harold was receiving a nice hot cup of chamomile tea and they were walking back to the bridge to give the Captain his tea.  
"So in a little while I will have to leave you and go and sit with that woman whom I call mother and sit through lunch. Harold...I do not think I will make it," she said sarcasticlly in a mellow dramtic voice. Harold smiled at her.

"I wish I could be there and save you from it all. The horror that is 'lunch with mother and the rest of the first class passengers', he said which caused her to laugh. Soon they were back to the bridge and Harold handed the Captain his tea. "Thank you Mr. Lowe. And if I may ask, who is this young woman?" the Captain said with a warm smile.

"Well sir this is Rebecca Hoffman. She and her family are passengers who are going to New York for her wedding," Harold replied.

Rebecca smiled politely.  
"Ah lovely, Miss. Hoffman it is a pleasure to meet you. As you know I am Captain Smith," he said with a tip of his hat.

--------------------

"Yes, I have heard of you before. I've only heard good things about what an excellent captain you are." Rebecca stated with a sincere smile.

"Thank you, miss Hoffman." Captain stated and then he turned to Harold, "Mr. Lowe, perhaps you should hang around with Miss Hoffman here, maybe pick up some charm and manners. Maybe then you wouldn't only be the fifth officer."

Rebecca giggled for a moment.

"I'll be sure to do that, sir. Perhaps some of Miss Hoffman's politeness will rub off on me." Harold stated. Then he whispered to Rebecca "And then he might not make me fetch his damn tea anymore."

Rebecca turned her head in the other direction as she tried not to laugh her self silly.

"Well I thought Harold has been quite the charmer since I met him. He escorted me to dinner last night and he took me to breakfast this morning," she said once she had regained herself.

"Well, that was very kind of you, Lowe. To escort this pretty young lady. And of course you got something out of it to. You got to be seen with a lovely young woman on your arm." the captain let out a hearty laugh. "You two just don't spend too much time together. I don't need you running off and marrying each other or something."

Rebecca smiled a polite smile but almost secretly wished that this would happen. That she would not be married to Michael.

"Well as Mr. Lowe said sir, I am engaged. To a young man from Virginia. So no worries about that," she replied.

"Ah right. Well Harold I guess since you have nothing to do around the bridge right now you could give Miss. Hoffman here a tour. If she wishes it," the Captain said.

"That sounds fine," Harold said with a smile.

"Very well, good afternoon Miss. Hoffman. It was lovely to meet you," the Captain said with another warm smile.

"Where to first, milady." He asked sarcastically.

"I'm not sure. This ship is huge." She stated.

"How about the bridge first, since we're already here?"

"I'd be delighted to see where you do all that hard work of tea-fetching and such." Rebecca said with a laugh.

Harold laughed back and the two walked about the ship with him explaining it all to her. By the time they were back up on the deck and had learned quite a bit more about each other Rebecca saw that it was nearing lunch time.

"Oh I have to get back to my suite now and change," she said, saddened almost by this revelation.

"Well I would take you to your suite but I fear your mother might be there, and then if she sees me with you after all of this time she might think that I have done something horrible with you," Harold replied.

Rebecca laughed slightly, "Yes quite right. I wish I did not have to go! Mark my words she will start talking about the colors I chose for the wedding! She is adamant that lilies, daffodils, and roses just don't mix," Rebecca said.

"What color are the lilies?" he asked.

"I chose red, yellow and white. Then I also have red, yellow, and white roses. Then just yellow and white daffodils," Rebecca replied.

"That sounds lovely. I do not know why that is such a problem," Harold replied.

Rebecca shrugged as she stood up.

"Well what can you do?" she asked.

"Nothing I suppose...but as I said yesterday, you can always say no," he answered.

"Well that's my mother for you. Are we still on for two o'clock?" she asked.

"Of course," Harold replied.

"Lovely," she said as she began to head towards the entrance to the grand staircase.

Harold took her hand and as he had done the night before kissed it gently.

"I will see you in a hour and be thinking of you while you endure the wedding talk," he said with a slight laugh.

She returned the smile and then walked into the First Class entrance, and walked in silence to her suite.

--------------------------

Rebecca sat in silence at the table while the people around them talked.

She and her sister were seated beside each other and then Thomas Andrews was on Kelly's other side. With Rebecca beside a woman by the name of Ruth DeWitt Bukater, then Ruth's daughter, her fiancee, Bruce Ismay, mother and father, and Mrs. Margaret Brown.

Rebecca looked up as Mr. Ismay began to speak.

"She is the largest moving object ever made by the hand of man in all history. And our master shipbuilder, Mr. Andrews here, designed her from the keel plates up," Bruce said proudly, as if he knew all.

Kelly could instantly tell she would not like this man. Even after the night before she thought she would not like him.

Bruce pointed casually at Thomas Andrews, who at once got a look of 'I do not wish for this attention.'

"Well, I may have knocked her together, but the idea was Mr. Ismay's. He envisioned a steamer so grand in scale, and so luxurious in its appointments, that its supremacy would never be challenged. And here she is..." Mr. Andrews stopped speaking and slapped the table. "Willed into solid reality," he continued.

"Why were ships always being called "she"? Is it because men think half the women around have big sterns and should be weighed in tonnage?" Kelly asked.

Everyone except for mother laughed politely.

"Just another example of the men settin' the rules their way," she continued after receiving a glare from mother.

Just then a waiter arrived to take their orders.

As he began to ask for Mr. Ismay's order, the girl known as Rose (Ruth's daughter) lit a cigarette.

Rebecca noticed Ruth lean in to her daughter.

"You know I don't like that, Rose," she said softly.

The girl's fiancee looked at Mrs. DeWitt Bukater and then took the cigarette and put it out.

"She knows," he said.

_Just another example of men controlling women,_ she thought.

"We'll both have the lamb. Rare, with very little mint sauce," Cal said to the waiter. Then he turned his attention to his fiancee.

"You like lamb, don't you sweetpea?" he asked.

Rebecca looked at her sister and sent a look saying 'I am going to slap Michael if he ever decides to order my food for me'.

"You gonna cut her meat for her too there, Cal?" Mrs. Brown asked.

Then without waiting for an answer Mrs. Brown turned her head to talk to Bruce.

"Hey, who came up with the name Titanic? Was it you Bruce?" she asked.

" Well yes, actually. I wanted to convey sheer size. And size means stability, luxury... and above all strengh," Mr. Ismay replied.

Kelly rolled her eyes.

" Do you know of Dr. Freud Mr. Ismay? His ideas about the male preoccupation with size might be of particular interest to you," Rose said.

Rebecca gasped at the comment and she and her sister fought the laughter that was trying to come up.

"Rose, what's gotten into you?" her mother whispered.

"Excuse me," Rose said.

Then she stood and left the room.

"I do apologize," her mother said before taking a sip of her tea.

"She's a pistol, Cal. I hope you can handle her," Mrs. Brown said.

Rebecca and Kelly looked at Cal for his response.

"Well, I may have to start minding what she reads from now on, won't I Mrs. Brown?" he replied.

"Freud who is he? Is he a passenger?" Bruce asked.

Kelly looked at Bruce.

"Yes, Mr. Ismay. Dr. Freud is a passenger," Kelly said sarcastically.

Rebecca buried her face in her hands as she tried not to laugh.

Bruce looked at Kelly trying to figure out if Kelly was being serious or not.

Kelly continued, "Freud is a passenger and I am the queen of England, of course."

"Kelly!" mother hissed.

Ismay was confused. "Young lady, are you being smart with me? I do not appreciate sarcasm. Do you know who I am? I am J. Bruce Ismay, president of the White Star Line."

"I am sure we all know that already. You have to remind us all of that every time we're near you. When will you ever stop bragging? Your ship isn't that grand, and you didn't even build it. You sat behind a desk and worked some of those fine Irish shipbuilders to their deaths, likely." Kelly added.

"Kelly! I think that is enough!" mother hissed loudly.

Kelly settled down, feeling rather happy with herself.

Rebecca looked to her side and saw the waiter who had been standing there for she guessed the entire time.

"Oh sir I am so sorry for keeping you waiting. I will just have the salad with little olive oil and a lot of vinegar," she replied.

The waiter nodded and went on to Kelly.

Kelly placed an order and the waiter continued on until he had received everyone's orders.

"So Mrs. DeWitt Bukater, I hear your daughter Rose is engaged. My daughter Rebecca is engaged as well. To a young man from Virginia. That is why we are on the ship. We are going to meet him in New York which is where he currently lives," mother said.

_Ah there it is, the wedding talk, _Rebecca thought, annoyed.

"Yes Rose is engaged. Caledon here is her fiancee. When we arrive in New York we are going to Pennsylvania and they will be married in Philadelphia," Ruth replied with a smile.

"Excuse me," Cal said with a polite smile and then he stood up and left the room in the direction that Rose had gone.

"Lovely, what are the colors you have chosen? Rebecca wishes for roses, tulips, and daffodils. I do not think the colors would mix. The bridesmaids gowns are red and the maid of honor which is...Kelly is wearing the color that she liked best. Light blue," mother continued on.

_I don't even like blue. And I utterly detest light blue_, Kelly thought with a sigh.

"Those are nice sounding colors," Ruth replied as Rose and Cal returned and sat down at the table.

Rebecca let out a soft sigh as she began to think about Harold.

If she could be anywhere right now she would be with Harold. With Harold she felt...cared for.

Yes mother said she cared for her, but not the way she needed to be cared for. Harold cared about her and her well being. Mother cared only for money.

Kelly seemed to notice that Rebecca had gone to a far away place.

She couldn't blame her sister, she did not wish to hear about colors for a moment longer. It was just then when a waiter came up pushing a cart of food. They gave Bruce his salmon, Rose and Cal received their lamb which Rose just stared at. Ruth had ordered the sausage, Rebecca received her salad, then Kelly, then Thomas, then Mrs. Brown (or just plain Molly), and mother and father.

Everyone went on to eat but Rebecca said a silent word of thanks to the Lord and then ate her salad, still thinking about Mr. Lowe.

Once all of the lettuce was gone from her plate, Rebecca excused herself, got a mint and went up to the deck.

Praying that her mother would not get nosy and decide to follow her daughter.

When she reached the bridge she saw Harold talking with another officer who looked to be a few years younger than him.

"Good news!" she said once she was standing beside Harold.

Harold looked and smiled at Rebecca.

"Well hello, what's the good news?" he asked.

"You don't have to go to my funeral! I was so worried that I would be wearing a black dress soon and not a white one..." Rebecca answered with a laugh.

"Wonderful, oh I am sorry. Jim this is Rebecca, she's a good friend of mine. Rebecca this is Jim Moody, he is the sixth officer," Harold said.

"Oh hello Mr. Moody, lovely to meet you," Rebecca said with a smile as she offered him her hand to shake.

The officer shook her hand politely and smiled.

"It is lovely to meet you as well. Harold I'll let you go on your break now. Talk to you later," Jim said, then after a polite nod he walked off.

"Well I am off of work for about two hours, so we can talk. But I would like to get something to eat. Fetching tea can really work up an appetite," Harold said with a laugh.

Rebecca replied the laugh and then took his arm as they walked to the café and Harold ordered some food and Rebecca just got a glass of water. Leaving the two to sit and do what they did best. Talk...

--------------------

**I am so sorry. I wanted to get this up quickly last night, so I forgot to go through it and edit it. I fixed some stuff now and it should be better. Once again, I apologize for taking so long. it is mostly my (Kelly) fault. I took too long to write a very short piece. PLease read and review. We'll reply as soon as we can. Thanks!**


	5. What I've Done

**_Titanic- Come What May_**

**_Chapter 5_**

Rebecca and Harold sat and drank tea as they discussed each other's lives. Even at one point with some disgust and then laughter they talked about the wedding and Michael.

"So that's that, mother wants Uncle Joe sitting with Aunt Esther even though she knows the two despise each other," Rebecca said with a slight laugh.

"Is your mother trying to have this wedding be a disaster?" Harold asked as he took a sip of tea.

"Well Uncle Joe and Aunt Esther hate each other but they also care enough about their reputation that they would not try to cause a scene," Rebecca replied.

"Ah, I see," Harold said with a grin which then caused them to laugh again.

"How about we change the subject?" Rebecca asked...

"Alright, so there is a fire in a coal bunker," Harold said.

"Oh really? That's actually quite boring," Rebecca replied.

"Well then how about…"

"Mother," Rebecca said.

"Mother? What could there be to talk about her? I thought that's why we stopped talking about the wedding," Harold said, confused.

"No mother is here," Rebecca replied.

Harold straightened up and looked at Rebecca's mother who was now standing beside the table.

"Rebecca dear, and Mr. Lowe," mother said as pleasantly as possible.

"Hello mother," Rebecca said with a bit of false grin.

"Hello Mrs. Hoffman," Harold said as he stood up and politely offered mother his chair.

Mother smiled and sat down in the seat. Then Harold pulled up another chair and sat beside Rebecca, which neither objected to except maybe mother but mother did not make her disgust known.

"So what were you two chatting about?" mother asked.

"Oh, well there is a fire in a coal bunker," Harold said.

"That's nice, now Rebecca I got a message from the florist. They said that they can do the flowers you want and that I want. Oh and Michael sent you a Marconi gram," mother said.

Harold glanced from mother to Rebecca as mother pulled out the message and handed it to her daughter.

"Oh how…lovely,"

She took the paper and read it, "Oh he says his Uncle whom he was named for is going to be coming in from California ," Rebecca said.

"Oh lovely," mother said.

Rebecca folded the letter and put it in her purse.

"Michael said that he is preparing the house for us for when we arrive, he is such a dear. Oh and Mr. Lowe I have told Michael all about you. He is so grateful that you are taking care of Rebecca for him that he wants to thank you. So…he has invited you to the wedding," mother said pleasantly.

Harold looked taken aback.

"Oh, how lovely. What day is the wedding?" Harold asked, even though he already knew.

"The 30th, will you still be in New York then?" mother asked.

"Possibly," Harold replied with a glance to Rebecca.

Rebecca was now engrossed in her own thoughts. She really did not wish to talk about the wedding, she remained silent as mother rattled on and on about Michael and the wedding. Then it hit her, as she glanced to Harold who was trying to seem interested to mother…she now knew that mother only continued on because she was trying to remind Harold that Rebecca was engaged and that they were spending loads of money on a wedding for Rebecca.

"Oh mother we must not keep Mr. Lowe. He has to return to his shift soon," Rebecca said, trying anything to get him out of her mother's claws.

Harold caught on at once and pretended to look at his pocket watch.

"Oh yes, I just got so engrossed in the talk about the wedding I forgot. I have a shift in about ten minutes," Harold replied pleasantly.

Harold stood up and bowed to them both.

"I think I am going to go back to the suite and take a nap," Rebecca said as she stood up.

"Oh well I think I will just finish my tea and then come back to the suite as well," mother said.

Rebecca nodded and she and Harold walked out of the café. Before returning to his shift he took Rebecca back to the suite. Before sending her off to her room he gave her a kiss on the cheek then leaned in to whisper something in her ear.

"Meet me by the bridge tonight after dinner."

Then with a brief smile he walked off.

Rebecca smiled after him until he was out of sight. Then she turned and walked into her suite and laid down to rest.

--------------------

Kelly walked down the first class hallway, and noticed how empty and silent it felt. _I'll bet third class doesn't have this feeling of such... solitude_. She thought. _Mother would kill me, but it's worth a shot_. Kelly turned around and went down several hallways and stairs until she was on the deck and saw a sign on a gate that stated "No 3rd Class Passengers Permitted Beyond This Gate."

She shook her head slightly at the thought of how stupid the little gate and sign was, and then opened the gate. Then she descended down the stairs. She came upon the 3rd class general room. Cigar smoke filled the air, and Kelly coughed lightly because of it. Many people looked up and stared at her.

A little boy went by, playing with a little ball. He ran and tripped over a chair leg. He fell and held onto his knee while crying loudly. "Mama!" He cried out. Kelly felt bad for the little boy and hurried over to help him. She picked him up and tried to hush his crying. "Shh... it's alright. Don't cry." She spoke in a soft voice.

The boy stop crying so loudly, and only hiccuped while trying to hold back a few sobs. "Where your mommy?" Kelly asked him. He choked out, "Mama went to get Peter." Kelly didn't know who Peter was, and she knew that wouldn't help.

She carried the little boy to a bench and sat him down, then she said, "May I look at your knee?" the little boy nodded his head while sniffling. Kelly looked at his knee and noticed it was fine, it only hurt because he fell on it. "Aw, you'll be fine."

She dug a piece of candy out of her pocket (she always hid candy with her, since mother won't let her eat it). She handed it to the little boy, and he smiled. She smiled back at him and ruffled the shaggy blonde hair on his head gently.

Kelly left the room, to go look around the hallways in third class. The bare white walls seemed to echo with the laughter and carefree happiness of third class.

"Well, I never would have imagined you in third class..." She heard someone say. She turned around and there was Jim, in his uniform (looking quite handsome, in Kelly's opinion). "And may I ask what you are doing down here?" He asked. "I was exploring. And this is the only place I could go to get away from my mother. She wouldn't be caught dead down in steerage." She replied. Then she paused for a second, "What about you? What are you doing down here?" She asked.

"I'm just walking around. Making sure everything is in order. Checking to see that no troublemakers are... well, you know... making trouble."

"Oh, I see." She stated with a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

They both laughed lightly. "I think I like this area of the ship better than First class. It's much less suffocating."

The hallway was now empty, and the only sound that they heard was the gentle hum of ongoing conversations coming from the other room.

"Why do you keep following me?" Kelly asked suddenly.

"Actually, I think it's is you who is following me. Everywhere I go, there you are. Like a guardian angel." Jim said.

"Yeah, kind of like that." Kelly said softly.

Jim locked eyes with Kelly. _He has such beautiful brown eyes..._ Kelly thought.

He took a step forward, and Kelly took a step back, until she was against the wall. "I love your eyes." he said, and then he blushed. "Did I just say that out loud?"

"Yes, you did." Kelly giggled.

"Shh..." Jim hushed her giggling. He stood so close to her, that she thought she could almost feel his heart beat. His face came closer until she could feel his breath on her cheek.

They still didn't break eye contact. He moved even closer until he was right against her body, and their lips met. The kiss seemed to last for a lifetime, and they were both in feelings of complete ecstacy.

Jim had his hands on her hips, and her hands were at her sides. The kiss went on and on, full of lust and passion.

But abruptly, Kelly turned her head away, breathing intensely, "What... was that?" She asked, out of breath, and breathing in between words.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, "I just..."

"Got lost in a moment?" Kelly finished his sentence for him.

"Yes, that's it." He stated, while blushing and breathing profusely.

"I have to go. I can't do this." Kelly said fast, and walked off quickly.

"But, Kel..." he didn't finish what he was going to say, and he only stood in the hallway, all alone.

--------------------

By this time Rebecca had awoken, she had been having a wonderful dream about not having to marry Michael. When she sat out of bed and looked at the clock she saw it was nearly dinner time.

"Isabella?" Rebecca called as she wiped the sleep out of her eyes. Then Rebecca's young maid came into the room. "Yes miss?" she asked. "I need help please getting dressed for dinner," Rebecca said.

"Right away miss, would you like to wear your mauve gown or your red gown?" Bella asked.

"Red, please," Rebecca replied. As Bella helped Rebecca out of her old corset and into a new one mother came in.

Rebecca looked up from the floor as she sucked in the pain of being tied into the corset. "Whatever do you mean mother?" Rebecca asked.

"I can tell that there is something going on. A mother just notices this stuff, and God knows you weren't exactly trying to be discreet about it. Have you forgotten that you are engaged? Our family's entire future depends on this marriage between you and Michael."

"Mother I have not the slightest clue what you are on about! Mr. Lowe and I are just friends. I know very well that I am engaged," Rebecca said but secretly wishing she did not know she was engaged and wishing that she and Harold had something more than friendship.

"I don't think you should be hanging around with him anymore."

"What harm could be done mother? It is just friends, not to mention you have gone bragging so now he's been invited to the wedding," Rebecca replied as she stepped into her gown.

"I will be watching him. If I see anything that goes beyond the role of 'friend' I will forbid you to see him, ever." Mother said and left the room. She closed the door softly behind her.

Rebecca looked at the door that her mother had just closed and then turn her head to the floor as she silently wept.

Kelly went back to the room she and Rebecca shared. Her hands were shaking as she turned the doorknob. She entered the room and saw Rebecca in there, getting her corset tied.

Rebecca quickly wiped at her face and looked at her sister. "Oh hi Kelly," she said as she tried to hide the fact she had been crying.

Kelly just looked at her sister, and turned away. Kelly didn't feel like speaking or anything.

"How was your day?" Rebecca asked.

She sat down on her bed, and looked up at Rebecca with empty eyes. "Fine..." she mumbled softly.

Rebecca studied her sister's face. "Kelly what happened?" she asked

"Nothing..." Kelly mumbled again.

"Kelly please do not lie to me," Rebecca said.

"Nothing happened! It's fine, okay!?" Kelly snapped at her sister.Then Kelly looked down at her hands which were folded in her lap and a tear rolled down her pale face.

Rebecca looked taken aback, "Whatever you want Kelly. I was just worried about you because you're my sister and I love you. But never mind! You keep to yourself. That's how the greats go down, they keep to themselves and then they wither away and die," Rebecca said.

"I screwed everything up!" Kelly said and began to cry.

Rebecca's face softened. She stood up and rushed to Kelly. "Kel, what's the matter?" she asked softly.

"I didn't mean for this to happen and I messed everything up! If only things hadn't had gone as far as they did..." Kelly cried, and let the last sentence fade.

Rebecca thought about Kelly's words for a moment. "Oh, my sweet Lord! Kelly, you didn't!" Rebecca cried softly.

Kelly didn't answer, she just kept crying.

Rebecca took her sister into her arms and rocked her gently. "Kelly it's okay! It'll be okay!" Rebecca said softly.

"No, it won't!" Kelly cried, "It won't be alright!"

"Kelly, it will be! I promise! We will get through this together," Rebecca said.

Kelly buried her face in Rebecca's shoulder and sobbed some more.

Rebecca hugged her sister, "I swear to you, Kelly, it will be fine. Mother doesn't have to know and it will just be our secret. Well yours, George's and mine," she said.

"George?" Kelly asked, but her words were a bit muffled by Rebecca's sleeve. "Why would you tell him anything?"

"I'm saying I won't tell him anything. What happened between you and him shall remain our secret," Rebecca said.

Kelly wiped her eyes with her hands. Her face was now red, and her hazel eyes were puffy. She was choking back a few sobs. "Thank you, Becca." She whispered.

Rebecca felt bad for her little sister. _How could this have happened?_ She thought, _I thought Kelly was smarter than that_. She handed Kelly a cloth to wipe her eyes with.

"Come now, to save ourselves any more grief get dressed. I do not wish to be yelled at by mother," Rebecca said.

Kelly got up and headed over to the bed post, then her maid, Annie, came and got her into the corset. Kelly hardly noticed the pain of the tying of the corset because she was thinking about how terrible she felt. _I broke Jim's heart. I feel so horrible! Now I've ruined any chance we ever had._ She thought.

Rebecca got her hair fixed and put on a necklace with a dragonfly and then she went into the sitting room to wait for Kelly. 

Kelly appeared in the sitting room finally, wearing a lavender dress that had black lace over the lavender fabric. The necklace her father had given her was safely fastened around her neck.

Rebecca stood and a moment later the sisters were walking beside each other and just a short distance behind their parents. _I can't believe Kelly had sexual relations with a man she has not seen in over five years! She is too young!_ Rebecca thought to herself.

Kelly looked at the floor for the entire walk. She felt awful inside. She had enjoyed the kiss with Jim so much, but still she had abandoned him in that hallway. _Why did I react the way I did? _Kelly thought,

As they got closer to the first class dining saloon Rebecca studied her sister's face. _Why? Why did she have to do that?_ she thought again as they walked.

They all walked into the dining saloon and sat down at the nearest table. Kelly sat next to Rebecca, and Mother was next to Kelly, and Father was next to Mother. Then the Morley family walked toward them. "Oh, please, join us."Kelly heard her mother say to Mrs. Morley.

So they sat down. George sat on the other side of Rebecca.

Rebecca looked over to George with anger, she wanted to yell at him and throw things. For instance she wanted to yell at him about why he had slept with her sister.

"Hello Rebecca." George said as he sat down.

Rebecca shot him a dirty look.

"How are you?" He asked kindly, attempting to start a conversation.

"I'm fine." Rebecca answered coldly, and as quickly as possible.

Kelly leaned over and said "Good evening George."

George replied "You look lovely tonight, Kelly."

"Thank you" Kelly replied. Then she sat normally.

Rebecca looked from Kelly to George and back. _What in the world was that all about!?_ Rebecca thought.

"So, George," Mother asked. "Did you do anything interesting today?"

Rebecca had been drinking from her glass of water and suddenly spit it all out in front of her.

"Rebecca!" Mother screeched.

She grabbed her napkin and began to clean up the mess. "I do apologize." She said.

Kelly stared down at her plate through most of dinner. She hardly touched her food. "Kel, are you alright?" George asked, looking generally concerned.

Before Kelly could answer, Rebecca said "No, she's not alright. Now leave her alone."

"I was just trying to help." George protested.

"Oh, you've done enough." Rebecca whispered sarcastically.

"Excuse me?" George asked incredulously.

"Leave her alone." Rebecca stated.

"Why should I?"

"Because I told you to and she obviously doesn't wish to speak to you."

"I think that's her choice if she'd like to speak to me." He replied.

"Leave her alone."

"No."

"Yes. Leave my sister alone!"

"What is wrong with you!?"

"What about what's wrong with you, you sick twisted jerk!"

"Both of you, stop this right now! Stop arguing this instant!" Mother said, and then George and Rebecca noticed that all the adults were staring at them.

Rebecca sighed and took a sip from her wine glass.

She remained calm, although under the table she stepped on George's foot with her high heel shoe.

"Ow!" He said in pain.

Rebecca smiled and finished her meal.

Dinner was soon over and Rebecca was never more thankful, she managed to make up an excuse to get away and she snuck off to the bridge where Harold was just finishing up his shift for the rest of the day.

"Hello Officer Lowe," she said when she got closer.

"Ah, hello, Becca, how was dinner?" Harold asked.

"It was...alright, I prefer not to discuss it right now. Is your shift over?" Rebecca asked. "Yes in 5...4...3...2...1. I am all yours," Harold said happily. Rebecca smiled and the two walked down on to the deck near the bow of the ship.

When the got to the bow Rebecca and Harold sat down. "So how was your shift?" Rebecca asked.

"Nothing eventful, mainly fetching tea for that Captain of ours. One point he wants lemon and raspberry, the chefs had to mix the leaves. Then he wants two cups of tea because Mr. Ismay was up on the bridge talking to him. Then he wants another cup of tea which was scolding hot and I spilled on myself. So then I had to go back to the kitchen and get a new cup. I just want to yell at him that I am not a steward. I'm a ships bloody officer, for crying out loud," Harold explained.

"Oh my gosh...seems your day was worse than mine," Rebecca said softly.

"Why...what happened?" Harold asked.

"Well when I was getting ready for dinner Kelly came in and she started to cry and I think she has given herself up to a man she grew up with and then at dinner I embarrassed myself by accidentally spitting out my water and then getting into an argument with the man my sister gave it to," Rebecca explained.

"Oh...well my mate Jim is broken hearted because of Kelly," Harold said.

"What?" Rebecca asked.

"Yea apparently when I was with you earlier Kelly decided to check out the steerage and while down there she saw Jim who she has become friends with. The two kissed and then Kelly ran off. Jim is absolutely crushed. He told me they were taking a walk today with a man called George. Then they parted and while Kelly was wandering around Jim met up with Kelly downstairs and that's when they kissed. Jim said Kelly just took off, like something was wrong," Harold said.

Rebecca was silent for a moment. "Oh my gosh, Harold," she said suddenly as the pieces fell into place.

"What?" Harold asked.

"I think I have made a terrible mistake."

--------------------

**Thank you for reading. We actually wrote this all today (June 22nd, 2007). It took us a few hours, but we got it done. Please excuse any errors we may have made. Just report those errors to us, if it is a big mistake. We wanted to update this as fast as possible, so we hurried. We hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for reading, and please review! We'd really enjoy reviews, it keeps us motivated!**

**---Kelly.**


	6. Torn Apart Piece By Piece

**_Titanic- "Come What May"_**

**_Chapter 6_**

Rebecca went back to her room after talking with Harold. She saw Kelly laying in bed, with tears in her eyes. "Oh, Kelly..." She said as she went over to her sister.

"It's not okay anymore. I broke his heart. I'll be surprised if Jim even speaks to me again." Kelly sobbed.

"So Harold was right..." Rebecca whispered to herself.

"What did you say?" Kelly asked.

"Harold was right. He told me that Jim was heart broken... over you." 

Kelly began to tear up again.

"Please don't cry. It will be alright." Rebecca said and hugged her sister.

"No, it won't be alright, ever. I feel horrible. I don't know what got into me to have such a reaction. I just left him standing there." Kelly cried.

"Hush, hush. We'll sort this all out." Rebecca stated comfortingly.

"This is what you said earlier. You said it would all be alright, but it's not. And you said we'd get through this together, but you didn't even know the situation."

"You're right. I definitely didn't know. I was thinking something far worse." Rebecca stated.

"Worse? What could be worse? What- Oh! Oh my gosh! You didn't think that I..." She paused, "Oh my gosh!"

"I had just assumed that you had had your first sexual encounter." Rebecca said softly.

"Jim wouldn't do that! He is too much of a gentleman." Kelly stated.

"Well... I wasn't thinking Jim..." Rebecca admitted.

"Then who else is there!?" Kelly asked.

"George Morley."

"Are you kidding me!?" Kelly screeched.

"Stop screaming. You'll wake Mother and Father."

"You thought I slept with George?" Kelly asked.

"Yes, and that's why I was so rude to him. But I will apologize to him for that tomorrow. But now that that's cleared up, we can deal with the situation at hand."

"Jim likely won't speak to me again."

"Do you love him?" Rebecca asked.

"What?"

"Do you love him?"

"I've only known him for a day." Kelly stated.

"So. Don't think about that. Don't think about Mother or society or rules or anything. Just look deep inside your heart. Do you love him?"

Kelly hesitated for a moment, "Yes." She whispered.

"Then that's all you need to know. Now tomorrow you will go find him and talk to him. Really talk. I think he'll listen."

"Thank you so much, Rebecca." Kelly smiled.

"Your welcome. Now get some sleep. You have a heart to mend tomorrow."

And with that, Kelly fell asleep and no more tears came.

Rebecca changed into her nightgown and crawled silently into bed. She fell asleep thinking about Harold and all of the events that had taken place the past two days. The next morning Rebecca woke up first and then woke Kelly so that she could get to Jim before breakfast. They helped each other get dressed since the maids were still asleep and then Kelly went off in search of the Officer's Quarters.

While Kelly was out Rebecca covered for her when mother woke up. 

--------------------

Kelly walked toward the bridge nervously. The wind blew her hair around as Kelly took a deep breath. _I can do this,_ Kelly said to herself.

Kelly took another deep breath and held it in. _I hope he wasn't too upset. Or I'll never be able to forgive myself._ She had been thinking, and she forgot she was holding her breath.

"You may want to let that out." A welsh voice said. There was Harold Lowe, staring right at her.

Kelly began breathing again normally. Then she looked up at him. She felt so tiny compared to the fifth officer's height.

"Anything I can help you with, Kelly?" He asked.

"I was looking for Jim" Kelly stated meekly.

"He's sleeping right now."

Kelly felt disappointed, "Oh, then I'll just go... sorry to bother you." She turned to walk away.

"No, it's alright. You should go see him. I am sure waking up to such a beautiful sight will cheer him up." He smiled.

Kelly smiled back and nodded. "Thanks."

"Good luck." Harold called out as she entered the hallway where they officers' rooms were.

Kelly found the room all the way at the end of the hallway, which had a sign that said "Officer Moody" on it.

She knocked first, and waited for someone to open the door. But nobody came.

She knocked again, louder this time. She felt awkward, just standing outside of Jim's room like that. Suddenly, the door opened and a very exhausted looking Jim stood in the doorway. His face looked blotchy, like if he had been crying. "Kelly?" He asked in awe.

"It's me. I came back." She said so softly, feeling like she was about to cry again. She blinked fiercely a few times to keep the tears inside.

Jim stood aside, to let her come in. "I'm so sorry, about yesterday. That was uncalled for and I shouldn't have done that. I made you feel uncomfortable."

"No, I was just shocked. I was frightened. And nervous." She explained. She wiped away one escaped tear. "I was afraid of this new feeling I was experiencing."

"And what feeling was that?" Jim asked.

"I don't even know how to even begin explaining it. My heart seemed to be ready to bounce out of my chest, and butterflies were attacking my stomach. It felt so good, yet so bad at the same time. It felt wrong to be that happy."

"We just got caught up in the moment. I shouldn't have done that. I never should have put you in such an awkward position." Jim said, feeling remorseful.

"It wasn't your fault. It was mine. I got scared and I ran." Kelly replied.

"But, I should have asked you first if it was alright. I should have asked permission before just taking what I wanted." Jim stated.

Kelly stared at him, and lifted his chin lightly so he stopped looking at the floor and began looking at her. "If you'd like, we can give it another try."

"Only if you are sure. Only if you feel right about it."

"I'm sure," She nodded her head lightly, "And I won't run away this time."

Jim leaned forward, as did she, and their lips met once again. The kiss started out so sweet and innocently, but soon it became full of intense passion.

"Jim..." She moaned as he began kissing her neck.

Jim stopped and looked deeply into her eyes again. "You're beautiful."

--------------------

Finally, they could no longer wait for Kelly. Rebecca, mother, and father all walked to the dining hall where it was set up for breakfast. Rebecca sat down beside Thomas Andrews and her mother and prayed Kelly would show up.

Kelly stayed with Jim, forgetting that she had to get to breakfest. The two sat and talked. Rebecca nodded politely at the DeWitt Bukater's and Mr. Hockley as they joined them. Mr. Hockley started up a conversation with Thomas Andrews. They discussed something about a tour on Sunday after the morning services but Rebecca heard none of it. Part of her mind was on her sisters whereabouts and the other part was on Harold, the man she had only just met two days ago. And yet...there was something about him. Some sort of sweet comforting thing about him. He was sweet, he listened, he comforted. Was she, Rebecca Hoffman, falling in love with a man that was not her fiancee? This could not be right, but it felt so right to think about him in that way. Now she really needed to know, even if she could not see Harold until tonight...she had to see Harold and figure out what she felt about him.

--------------------

They were still kissing. "Jim, we should stop now." Kelly said, pulling away from his embrace.

"Yes, you're right. If we don't stop now things may happen." Jim stated breathlessly. "Things we might not be able to control."

"Things are going a bit fast."

"I didn't intimidate you, did I?" Jim asked, sincerely concerned. "Did I make you feel uncomfortable?"

"No, no. It's fine. We just have to slow down a bit. We've only known each other for about 2 days."

"And yet I feel as thought I've known you a lifetime." Jim said, and that made Kelly smile.

She kissed him on the cheek sweetly. "I should go. My family must be wondering why I missed breakfast. And if my mother knew what I was doing all this time, she'd throw a fit."

"I'll see you soon, right?" Jim asked, hope glittering in his eyes.

"You can count on it." Kelly replied and left quietly.

--------------------

After breakfast Rebecca went up to deck to look for Harold. She was informed that he was working from now until lunch, and then he was dire need of a nap. Rebecca thanked them and then returned to her suite where she retrieved a novel and then went up to the deck to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.

--------------------

Smiling all the way, Kelly walked back to her room. "Kelly Ann Hoffman! Where were you this morning!?" her mother asked furiously.

"I didn't feel well, so I went to lie down." Kelly explained.

"Well, when I went in to check on you this morning, you weren't laying down."

"You're right. I was vomiting in the toilet." She retorted and watched Mother's face change from anger to utter disgust.

"I think it may be a virus. So I suppose I will just go back to bed." Kelly stated plainly and sarcastically. She then turned towards the bedroom door.

"Where were you just now?" Mother asked.

"I went to get some tea, hoping that would calm my aching stomach." She lied, and with that, left her mother.

--------------------

Rebecca sat on the deck in the sun and continued to read Macbeth. As she read she glanced around once or twice just to see if she saw Harold. But he was no where to be seen. _He's probably fetching tea for the captain_, she thought silently.

--------------------

Kelly laid in her bed, staring into space as her mind became focused on Jim. His eyes, his hair, and his lips. All perfect, in Kelly's opinion. She'd never felt that way before. Not about anyone. Then Kelly thought about yesterday, when Rebecca thought something far worse than what really happened. She laughed about that. _I can't believe she'd even assume something like that! And poor George. He must have been so utterly confused. Rebecca will have to apologize to him about that._

---------------------

Rebecca read a bit more and then she went off in search of George Morley. She soon found his suite and knocked on the door. The door was answered by Mrs. Morley. "Hello Mrs. Morley," Rebecca said politely.

"Hello, Rebecca dear," Mrs. Morley said.

"May I speak to George? I have to speak to him about my behavior last night," Rebecca said.

"Yes Rebecca, of course you may. Please come in," Mrs. Morley said. She stepped to the side and admitted Rebecca in. Rebecca walked into the room that was slightly made to look like hers and she now wondered if all of the suites looked like this.

"George dear, Rebecca Hoffman is here. She would like to speak with you," Mrs. Morley said.

George came out of another room and looked at Rebecca with surprise. "Hi George, I came to say I am sorry for the way I acted last night. I was under the impression that something had occurred between you and Kelly and then that made Kelly upset. But then I found out it was not what I thought it was. I am ever so sorry for it," Rebecca explained.

George was silent and thought about these things for a few moments. "Ah very well, apology accepted," George said happily. Rebecca nodded, now I should get back to my suite. It will be time for lunch before you know it. Perhaps I'll see you then," Rebecca said.

George nodded, the two shook hands and then Rebecca left for her suite. 

Rebecca entered the room, and saw Kelly laying down. "So... tell me all about it. I want to know everything." She said excitedly.

Kelly smiled, "Well, we both know I am one not to kiss and tell."

"Oh my gosh. You kissed him? Again?" Rebecca asked.

Kelly nodded, "Hmm..."

"My little sister is all grown up now. Aw..."

"Oh, sod off, why don't you." Kelly said and threw a pillow at her sister.

Rebecca caught the pillow and placed it beside her. "Are you ready for such a big change in your life?"

"What do you mean?"

"You kissed this man, and you really like him, but what's going to happen next? He's an officer who works on ships. He'll be gone a lot, and we know Mother won't allow you to see him when he does come back from sailing."

"I believe love can survive anything." Kelly stated firmly. "So, come what may, and I know we can make it through."

"Now that's the stubborn Kelly I know. Refusing to let anything stand in your way."

"I'm not stubborn, just determined." She replied, feeling quite sure of herself.

"I believe this voyage on Titanic is changing both of our lives."

"Yes, but changing them for the better."

"Kelly...I believe that I am falling for Harold," Rebecca said softly.

"Ha, I knew it! But you've only known him for two days!"

"Well you've also only known Jim for two days, and not even Harold and I have gone as far as kissing."

"Wow. Who knew that we'd both fall so hard for two of Titanic's officer's. Perhaps we do have more in common than we thought."

"How do you figure that?" Rebecca asked.

"We're both just irresistible to sailors." Kelly stated. They both giggled like small children.

"Well I do not know if that's how I feel or not," Rebecca replied once they stopped laughing.

"Spend some more time with him and get to know him more. Then you'll know." Kelly stated. "And if you have fallen for him, then you'll have this feeling inside. A feeling that's so hard to explain. You'll feel like butterflies are attacking your stomach, and you'll feel almost like you're walking on air. You'll be in a cloud of blinding love. And that feeling feels pretty good."

"How did you get so smart?" Rebecca asked.

"Well, perhaps it's because I have a pretty smart sister."

"I never thought my life would come to this. My little sister is giving me advice about love." Rebecca said, "And she's even had her first actual kiss before I did."

"Actually, Rebecca, this wasn't my first kiss." Kelly admitted. 

"Wait... What!? Who!?"

"George," Kelly said, "When we were 11, he tried to kiss me, but I turned away and he missed my lips. Instead he ended up kissing my ear." and they both started laughing.

"He doesn't seem very debonair, does he?"

"No, not a bit! But he's kind of cute sometimes. I'll always only think of him as a friend. Never anything more than that." Kelly replied. "I still can't believe you thought that I had slept with him." Kelly said while giggling.

"It was the first thing that popped into my head. I just assumed..."

"Well do me a favor, and never assume anything again."

"I went to apologize to him." Rebecca muttered.

"That's good. You weren't very nice to him last night at dinner. Although I must admit it was rather hilarious."

"Yes, it was, wasn't it. Mother looked like she was about to strangle me."

"I think she was planning on it. You're lucky we were in public, or she'd had jumped over the table just to get to you." Kelly said.

Rebecca laughed, "At least Harold did not witness my behavior. He just imagined it, as I retold the epic tale as how I defended my sister..." Rebecca said as she laughed again,

"You didn't have to defend me anyway. I would have been fine, had that actually been the case. But I appreciate you looking out for me."

"Well I guess I felt the need to..." Rebecca replied.

"Did you tell that Mr. Lowe about everything?" Kelly asked.

"Well it's strange, I have known Harold for only three days and yet I feel that I can tell him anything, so as a answer to your question yes I did tell him everything," Rebecca answered.

"Oh my gosh." Kelly said.

"What?"

"Oh my gosh. What if he tells Jim? What if he tells Jim that you thought I did that!?"

"Kelly, calm down." Rebecca said comfortingly.

"Hopefully, Harold won't tell Jim. Even if he knows I didn't do it, it may change how he thinks of me."

"Kelly you have nothing to worry about, Harold does not go around telling people what we talk about unless I say it's ok," Rebecca said.

"Have you got him whipped or something?" Kelly asked sarcastically.

"No, we just have a good friendship...," Rebecca said but leaving the sentence unfinished for she truly did find herself wanting more.

"So do Jim and I..." Kelly said.

"I do believe that's more than just a friendship."

"Well... possibly."

"Kelly, you kissed him!" Rebecca said excitedly.

"I guess we must be more than friends." Kelly said with an uncontrollable smile on her face.

"Do not try to hide it," Rebecca said with a grin.

"Yes, we must hide this. Mother will murder me!"

"What about me? I am in love with another man and I am engaged!" Rebecca cried, but not loud enough for her mother or father to hear.

"Run away." Kelly suggested.

"What!?" Rebecca asked incredulously.

"Run away." Kelly repeated.

"You just suggest that I leave my old life and start anew?"

"Yes." Kelly answered.

"That's ridiculous."

"No, it's your way out." Kelly stated softly.

"Well what if Harold does not even think of me that way?" Rebecca asked.

"Well, boys talk to each other about things. I could ask Jim if Harold said anything. And what's not to like about you? You're smart and pretty, and much more mature than I am."

Rebecca blushed, "Well when do you think you could ask?" she asked.

"I can ask Jim tomorrow during another intense kissing session." Kelly said, and laughed.

I would prefer to know sooner..." Rebecca replied.

"Oh, don't worry. I have a feeling that I'll be seeing him real soon. I just can't keep my mind off of him."

"Or your lips either." Rebecca retorted.

"Oh, shut up!" Kelly snapped back.

"It's true," Rebecca replied. "How much kissing was it anyway? Was it like innocent, or was it sweet, or very intense?"

"I think a mixture of that. It was sweet at first, but then it became so much more." Kelly explained.

"Wow my little sister is a true woman now," Rebecca said with a laugh.

"I'm more of a woman than you are." Kelly replied.

"Yes but you are an immature woman, you said yourself I am more mature," Rebecca said.

"Oh, I was just trying to make you feel better. But in reality, we all know I am the mature, polite, well-mannered one in this family." Kelly stated while holding her head in the air haughtily.

Rebecca tossed a pillow at her.

"Kelly with that said you have just proved you are immature," Rebecca said.

"I think I'll just go see what Jim is up to right now. Perhaps he'll need me for some reason, such as a case of cold lips that he needs warmed up." Kelly smiled and turned to exit the room.

Rebecca stared after her sister in disbelief. Then she retrieved her book and went up onto the deck.

Kelly left the room and walked from hallway to hallway, until she bumped into George. "Oh, hello George." Kelly greeted. 

"Hello, Kelly. What are you doing?" He asked.

"Just walking around, trying to find Jim."

"Oh, that officer??" He asked. Kelly nodded. "He seems like a nice man."

"He is." Kelly replied, smiling to herself, thinking about earlier.

After a moment of awkward silence, George said, "Rebecca came to visit me earlier."

"Oh, really?" Kelly said, "She told me. She apologized to you about her rudeness at dinner last night."

"She gave me an explanation, but I'm not sure I understood it. She said something about she thought something happened between us and you got upset..."

"She thought that I was upset because I had given myself up... to you." Kelly said softly.

"Why in the world would she have thought that!?"

"I was upset yesterday, because Jim and I had met down in a hallway in third class, and we sort of... kissed. I felt upset after it and from the vague things I said to Rebecca about why I was upset, that was the first thing that she assumed. She was just looking out for me."

"And her first assumption was that it was me?" 

"Yes." Kelly answered.

"Wow..." was all he could think to say.

"Yes, wow..." Kelly said. "But we figured it all out and now everything is better. No more confusion."

"That's good." He said.

"So I suppose I'll be seeing you later at lunch."

"Yes, of course." George replied.

"Good. I'll see you then." Kelly said with a friendly smile.

"Yeah... see you then..." George said while watching her walk off.

Kelly found Jim leaning against a wall on the deck, smoking a cigarette since nobody else seemed to be around to see him do that. "That's bad for your health, you know." Kelly said.

He saw her standing there and smiled. He took the cigarette from his mouth and held it out towards her. "If you say so..."

Kelly took it from him carefully and tossed it over the side of the ship, not even watching it hit the water. "That's much better."

Jim walked towards her and leaned in to kiss her again, but she turned away.

"What wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"I don't want to kiss somebody with tobacco breath." Kelly answered sweetly.

He smiled at her handsomely, "It's not that bad. Plus, some women think it's attractive." 

"But I'm not 'some women'. I'm Kelly Ann Hoffman." She stated.

"Fine then... I won't kiss you." He said, looking disappointed.

Kelly looked at him sympathetically, knowing he was just joking around. "Oh, fine. just kiss me."

"No. I don't want to anymore." he joked.

Kelly smirked and grabbed onto his neck. She kissed him passionately.

"Okay, perhaps I do want to." He stated.

"Come here, you fool." She said a bit seductively and they went back to kissing.

"What if someone sees us?" Kelly asked, after a while so she could get some air.

"Then we'll make them jealous." Jim laughed.

"Jim?" Kelly asked, "You talk to Harold Lowe every once in a while, right?" 

"Yes, why?"

"Has he ever mentioned my sister, Rebecca?" She asked.

"Mentioned her? She's practically all he ever talks about!" Jim said.

"Does he talk about her like a friend, or like anything more?"

"Why?" Jim asked.

"Just tell me, please." Kelly pleaded.

"He never stops talking about her. He told me she is less than thrilled about her upcoming wedding. He even said he wishes he could do something. He wishes he could save her. He really likes her. Come to think about it, I think he's falling for her." Jim said. 

"Really? That's great!" Kelly said excitedly.

Jim looked confused.

"My sister wanted to know hoe he felt about her, because she seems to be falling for him too." Kelly explained.

"It seems that love is in the air." He said.

"Love?" Kelly asked.

"What else would you call the happening on this ship? Your sister is falling in love with Harold, and I'm falling in love with you." Then he blushed.

"You are falling in love with me!?" Kelly asked, feeling surprised.

"You are one interesting woman, Kelly Hoffman. Beauty and a very amazing personality that defies that of most first class ladies, all on the surface," He said, and then whispered in her ear, "But what lies beneath your exterior has yet to be found out."

"Jim..." She whispered back to him. They kissed again. It seemed to have become a new hobby for them. But little did they know, somebody had come over to that side of the bridge.

George saw them kissing and his blood coursed through his veins as he was filled with anger.

Rebecca finished the book and then soon began to dress for lunch. As Isabella did the usual torture of tying her into the corset Rebecca thought about Kelly. _Where in the world has she gotten to?_ Rebecca thought. Once she was in her corset she put on her dress and Isabelle fixed her hair.

Kelly and Jim shared one or two more kisses and then Kelly rushed back to their stateroom.

"Kelly, did you talk to Jim?" Rebecca asked as soon as Kelly got into the room.

"Yes, and from what he said, Harold seems to like you too."

"Really!?" Rebecca said excitedly.

Kelly nodded. "He never stops talking about you."

Rebecca sighed and had an uncontrollable smile on her face.

"And Jim and I kissed... again." Kelly squealed happily.

"Oh, to be young and in love." Isabella spoke up. The maid had been so quiet before, Kelly wasn't sure she'd ever heard her voice.

"Have you ever been in love, Isabella?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes," Isabella began, "I was in love once. With a man who traveled a lot. He had been to Italy, and Germany, and Hungary. I met him in France when he was courting the young woman who I used to be a maid for, back when I was only 15. He would see her by day, and me by night. He told me he loved me more and I believed him. We had planned to run off and be married in Paris, but it never worked out. Somehow, my employer found out and sent me off to London, I never saw him again."

"That's so terrible. You fell in love and then never saw him again." Kelly said.

"But that was 12 years ago. Those memories are long gone, along with my hope of ever meeting him again." Isabella stated with a solemn expression.

Rebecca looked at Isabella in soft understanding. "I'm so sorry Bella," she said.

"Thank you, Rebecca. But I shouldn't be talking to you girls about my life, I'll surely lose my job for that." Isabella said, and went back to getting Rebecca ready for lunch.

Annie came in and got Kelly ready as well.

There was a knock on the door and Annie stopped and answered it. It was their mother. "Kelly, may I speak with you for a moment? Alone?"

Rebecca was mostly ready, so she walked out of the room after giving Kelly a sympathetic look. She went into the sitting room. Annie and Isabella left too after curtseying politely.

Mother shut the door and looked angrily at Kelly. "What were you thinking!?" She screeched.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Kelly was quite confused.

"Don't lie to me! You know what I am talking about!"

"No, I don't." Kelly answered.

Mother slapped her in the face really hard. "You little whore! You were being intimate with that scum!"

Kelly's heart sank and she felt like she couldn't breathe.

"You were with that damn sailor this morning, weren't you?" Mother asked with rage. Kelly didn't answer so Mother grabbed her wrist harshly, "Didn't you!?"

"Yes," Kelly whined, nearly crying and she still couldn't breathe well.

"You are not to see him again! Do you understand me!?" Kelly wasn't looking at her mother, "Look at me when I am speaking to you!" Mother yelled.

"Please, mother... stop." Kelly said, using all the strength she could muster.

"No, I won't stop! You are a little slut and you always have been. You're such a brat. That Sailor only wants you because you are easy. No one loves you, and no one ever really will!"

Kelly felt her chest tighten and her throat started to close up. Kelly's tears began staining her dress with water marks, her face was red both from the slap and from her crying.

Mother threw down Kelly's wrist and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Rebecca rushed into the room and saw Kelly struggling to breathe. "Kelly! Kelly, are you alright!?"

Kelly couldn't answer. She fell backwards and Rebecca caught her just in time. Everything turned to black, as Kelly fainted.

Rebecca held Kelly and managed to get her into her bed. Then after putting a cold cloth on her face she went into the sitting room where her mother was. "Mother what in the world was that for?!" Rebecca yelled.

Mother was sitting their drinking a cup of tea, acting as though nothing had happened. "Kelly deserved it. Sometimes you just have to yell at someone so you can drill into their head that their actions are not acceptable."

"Mother, you are sucking the life right out of her, piece by piece!" Rebecca yelled.

"If she gets in trouble for something, she'll learn not to do it again," she replied.

"Yes because abusing her is the solution to everything! I want to know what the hell happened that made you so bitter and evil! Pardon my language but I am sick and tired of seeing you abuse my little sister, verbally and physically!" Rebecca yelled. 

"And why should any of this matter to you? I don't do it to you." Mother answered plainly.

"No you don't do it to me which is the confusing thing. You treat Kelly like crap and me like I am perfect. It matters to me because she's my little sister! I love her dearly! She never did anything to you!" Rebecca said.

"You wouldn't understand my reasons, Rebecca. But she has done something to me, just by being born!"

"Well then maybe you should have told father to keep his hands off of you. If you only wanted one child you should not of done the deed!" Rebecca replied.

"Furthermore, who told you that Kelly and some officer were kissing?" Rebecca asked before mother could answer.

"George Morley told me. He had seen then on the deck today. Both of them were kissing right out in the open." Mother argued.

"George Morley? Who cares what he says? He did that out of spite. You know what when she is with him she is so happy! Why do you deny her that? I don't know why you have to be so evil to her and even to me. You act like your doing good for me but your not. You really are not," Rebecca shouted.

"Everything will soon be put into place, and Kelly will be tamed. All in good time. Now you should go finish getting ready for lunch. When Kelly finally comes to, make sure she is ready to go too." Mother said. Rebecca gave her a dirty look and walked off toward her room without saying another word.

When Rebecca went into her bedroom she sat down next to Kelly as she began to wake up. "Hi Kel, you ok?" she asked softly.

"Mother knows... how... how does she know?" Kelly asked, only half awake.

"That no good scum George Morley told her. Apparently he saw you two kissing and I guess out of spite he told her. I so sorry Kelly," she said.

"But George wouldn't do something like that. We're friends."

"Well apparently maybe he wanted something more and he was jealous, I don't know what to tell you Kel," she said.

Kelly wiped some of the tears from her eyes and got up. She held onto the bed post for balance. "I'd better finish getting ready for lunch."

"Kel, are you sure you're alright?" Rebecca asked.

"I'm fine." Kelly answered, but she knew she wasn't alright. But she tried to be strong anyway, because masking her pain was all she could do.

Once Kelly was finished preparing for lunch she took Rebecca's hand and the sisters walked into the sitting room where mother and father were waiting. Rebecca looked at her mother coldly and the family left the room and began to walk up the hall towards the dining saloon. 

They walked up the hall in silence, nodding once or twice at people in the hall. When they reached the dining saloon Rebecca and Kelly sat down.

The Morley family showed up, of course, and George sat next to Kelly.

"Good afternoon, Kelly." He greeted again.

"Hello George..." Kelly said unenthusiastically.

Rebecca sent an angry glare towards George.

They ordered their food and soon were eating it. Only the adults were speaking, and Rebecca, Kelly, and George were all silent.

"I'm sorry." George whispered to Kelly.

She didn't answer him.

"Please, Kelly, just talk to me." he whispered pleadingly. "I had to do that, for your own good."

"And you should have left things alone, for the sake of your own good." Kelly whispered back.

She hated showing weakness of any kind. So she remained a look of emotionless. She didn't even glance at George.

Rebecca continued to glare at George. The waiter came by and took everyone's orders but Rebecca made sure never to look away from George. This man had caused her sister some serious pain.

Kelly barely touched her food. She didn't feel much like eating lately. She felt like the walls she had built to keep reality out and keep her pain hidden within had come crashing down around her and the pain soaked into her skin and was flowing through her veins.

Soon lunch was over and Rebecca took Kelly back to the state room. Then she snuck up to the deck in search of Harold.

When she got up to the bridge she was told that Harold had gone to sleep about half an hour ago. Rebecca saw the hall that led to the officers quarters and walked down it, reading each sign on the doors that had the name of each officer.

When it finally opened about five minutes later, there stood a tired and confused looking Harold. "Becca? What is it?" he asked as he wiped sleep from his eyes.

Rebecca was at a loss for a moment as to what to say. But then she pulled Harold into a embrace and began to kiss him...

--------------------

**We worked on this all weekend and finally got it done. I (Kelly) was a bit lazy in editing, so any typos are pretty much my fault. Feel free to hit me with a chair, if you feel you must. Thank you so much for reading. And please review. Reviews really keep us motivated and we really love to hear your feedback. Thanks so much! **


	7. Kiss My Pain Away

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

_**Chapter 7**_

**Warning: The end of this chapter may include some sexual content. You have been warned. **

By each second the kiss was deepened. After a few moments Harold moved his hands to Rebecca's waist and the kissing ceased.

"Wow" Harold said breathlessly.

"Yea... wow..." Rebecca repeated.

"That was a bit... unexpected..."

"I know." Rebecca nodded in agreement.

"Rebecca what does this mean?" Harold asked, still breathlessly as he was still recovering from the kiss.

"Harold I have feelings for you and I think they are the same feelings you have for me. I know that I am engaged to be married but I don't care anymore. when I am with you I feel safe and cared for. Harold...I came here to let you know that it seems...I have fallen in love with you," Rebecca said.

"This isn't right." Harold said, not looking at Rebecca.

"But of course it's right!"

"You're engaged! To a man who can provide everything for you! He has money to buy you anything you want!"

"He can't buy my heart, nor can he buy my happiness!" Rebecca stated, then she said softly, "He can't buy me the one thing that I want." Then she put her hand on Harold's shoulder, "And that's you."

Harold looked up at her and smiled. Rebecca kissed him softly on the lips and then rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he whispered back.

Rebecca and Harold shared one more kiss and then Rebecca walked back to her suite, with a feeling of walking on clouds. When she returned to the suite she floated into the bedroom where Kelly was laying on her bed.

"Where were you?" Kelly asked.

Rebecca smiled and sat down on her bed, still thinking about the kiss she had shared with Harold and not even hearing Kelly.

"Rebecca!?" Kelly asked, attempting to get her sister's attention.

Rebecca snapped back into the present, "What?!" she asked

"Where'd you run off to?" Kelly inquired.

"I went to see Harold," she answered

"Oh... I see..." Kelly said teasingly.

"Don't tease me!" Rebecca cried

"Fine, fine. I won't. So... what happened? Did 'lover boy' make a move?"

Rebecca looked down to hide her smile. "No he did not make a move," she answered

"Damn. Well, perhaps he's just shy." She suggested.

"Well Kel the truth is...I made the first move," she said as her face turned red.

"You're kidding!" Kelly exclaimed

"No, I walked right up to his door, he answered and I kissed him," Rebecca replied.

"Just like that?"

"Yes, just like that." Rebecca answered with a smile.

"Aw, I am so proud of you right now."

Rebecca continued to smile, "So how are you holding up?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Kelly said coldly. Rebecca looked sympathetically at her little sister. Then Kelly blurted out "He apologized at lunch. He said it was for my own good. But I'm not sure if I believed him."

"Trust me, I doubt he had your best interest in mind."

"I guess things have really changed in the 5 years since I've seen George."

"Well you have become a beautiful young woman, I suppose that he was jealous," Rebecca answered.

"Jealousy is an ugly thing." Kelly murmured.

"That it is," Rebecca agreed.

"So, kissing... that's all you did?" Kelly asked.

"Yea and we talked a bit, he told me he loves me," Rebecca said.

"Awwwww..." Kelly said. "Jim hasn't even told me that. Although in a way, he did say it, just not clearly. He said he was falling in love with me, and when I asked him about that, he said I was one interesting woman. I guess that still counts..."

"I would think that counts," Rebecca replied.

"Love is wonderful, so I don't know why so many people are against it. Mother, and George, and everyone else in first class. They don't understand real love. They think love is just about money and deals."

"Well Yes, that seems to be all that matters to them," Rebecca agreed.

"This world is messed up. It's just the whole way of things. I hate it."

"Well you should not care what mother says. You could take your own advice and run away," Rebecca said.

"Fine, perhaps I will." Kelly said.

"Or the four of us could run away together and hide from mummy," Rebecca said.

"Yes, we'll elope. A double wedding in a mine shaft or something." Kelly suggested sarcastically.

Rebecca laughed. "Yes I can see it now," she said.

"Coal staining our white dresses and smudging our faces. That will be beautiful. And knowing my luck, I'll trip over a shovel or something."

Rebecca laughed again. "No offence, Kel, but you would," she said.

"I wish I could be with Jim, and I wish you could be with Harold. It seems a bit impossible though. There's no way it willl work out. Even if we did run away, Mother would hunt us down. We're stuck."

"Well we would have to go where she would never look for us," Rebecca said.

"She'd probably let me go. She wouldn't care if I were lost. She'd likely make up some ridiculous reason for why I am missing. Like that I went crazy and had to be sent to an asylum." Kelly said. "But she'd look for you. She couldn't stand losing you."

Rebecca looked down, "This just is not fair," she said.

"No, not fair at all." Kelly whispered.

Rebecca looked at her sister. "Kelly does this look like the face of someone who cares about money?" she asked.

"No, since I don't see dollar signs in your eyes. That's a good thing. You haven't been corrupted by the rich life like most have."

"Honestly I could be living in the streets and I wouldn't care. Just as long as I am with Harold," Rebecca replied.

"You wouldn't make it on the streets." Kelly stated.

"Hey I resent that!" rebecca cried.

"Oh yea, well I resent you." Kelly said, "Just kidding, sis."

Rebecca threw a pillow at Kelly which hit Kelly in the head.

"Oh, what was that for?" Kelly cried.

"For saying you resented me. By the way, what time is it?" Rebecca asked.

"I'd say it's about three-thirty." Kelly replied.

Rebecca nodded. "So are you going to tell Jim about what George did?" Rebecca asked.

"No, I do not see the point. Perhaps I shall just stay away from him. I should just give up, no matter how happy he makes me."

"Kelly!" Rebecca cried.

"You can't really think that!" she said.

"But there is no hope! There's no possible way for me to be with him now and then I'll only end up breaking his heart! There's just no use."

"Kelly, why are you looking at all of the negative points? You need to just forget about mother and be with him," Rebecca said.

"I don't know. But I want this to work. I know it won't work out in the end. But I suppose I'll just enjoy it while it lasts." Kelly said.

"I guess thats all that you can try to do, but I don't see why you can't runaway with Jim," rebecca said.

"Because... because..." Kelly couldn't think of a reason, and then she saw the smirk on Rebecca's face, "Oh, shut it. That is just absurd."

"Is it any more absurd than me wanting to run away?" Rebecca asked.

"Fine." Kelly agreed. "Someday, both of us will run away and become famous actresses. We'll be a team."

"Ha! Yes, that will work," Rebecca said.

Kelly smiled, "The harder mother pulls me back, the harder I will try to free myself." Then Kelly thought, _I feel the need to rebel. but how should I do that?_

--------------------

Soon it was time to dress for dinner, Rebecca and Kelly were tied into the corsets and put into their dresses. The maids did their hair and makeup and then they walked to dinner. Rebecca walked with her arm linked with her sister and her parents walked just a little ways ahead. When they entered the dining saloon Rebecca saw George and his family sitting at one table and to hers and Kelly's dismay mother and father decided to sit at that table. Rebecca sat between George and Kelly.

"Good evening." George said to Rebecca.

"I do not wish to speak to you, nor does my sister. now I would greatly appreciate it if you promptly leave us both alone. Thank you." Rebecca said plainly and business-like. She didn't even look at George.

George was a bit confused and angered. "Rebecca I swear everything I told your mother I did for Kelly's own good," he pleaded.

"George, I don't care, you did it out of spite and jealousy. Now leave us alone," rebecca said, still not looking at George

George sat still and thought about Rebecca's words. He turned to look at her one more time, but she didn't look at him. So he looked back at his plate sadly.

Soon the waiter came by, he took everyone's orders and then everyone around them began talk and unfortunately mother brought up the wedding.

Kelly wished for dinner to end. She didn't care too much for all the mindless chatter. She looked over at George, only to find him staring back at her with apologetic eyes. She only returned his gaze with her cold stare. Numbness reflected in her eyes.

Rebecca ate her dinner, trying not to pay attention to the chatter about the wedding. At one point in the dinner Rebecca noticed the DeWitt Bukater girl get up and leave but she paid it no attention. she just ate in silence and thought about the beautiful sweet kiss she and Harold had shared.

At the end of dinner, Kelly felt her chair being pulled out. She looked behind her and there was George Morley. He pulled her chair out for her and offered her his hand. She sighed and grabbed his hand lightly. He helped her stand up, then he pushed her chair back in. "I'm so sorry." He said.

"It's fine. Nothing can be done about it now." Kelly muttered.

"I should have stayed out of it. But I was afraid for your safety with that strange man."

"Strange man?" Kelly asked.

"Yes. You don't know him well enough to be kissing him." George stated.

"Excuse me, but I don't think you know me well enough to make that assumption."

"You should be with someone else. A wealthy man who can provide for you. A man that you know." George said.

"Like you?" Kelly asked.

"Well, yes, I suppose I'd be perfect."

"Rebecca was so right about you. You weren't looking out for me. You were jealous!" Kelly yelled. "And you haven't changed one bit, now that I think of it. You've always been a bit of a jerk. You haven't changed, and you never will!"

Kelly picked up a half full wine glass from the table and looked at the glass for a moment. Then she smiled evilly, and threw the wine right in George's face.

Rebecca stood up and took her sisters arm to remind George to leave her alone. Then she lied to mother and the two sisters went up onto the deck.

Kelly walked off towards the deck. She felt quite pleased with herself for what she said to George. She saw Jim standing up ahead and she walked over to him. He was speaking to Harold Lowe. "Hello Jim, Hello Harold," She greeted kindly.

"Good evening Kelly." Harold said.

Instead of saying anything, Jim just kissed her on the cheek. Then Kelly turned her head and turned it into a really kiss.

They both forgot Harold and Rebecca were standing there. Harold cleared his throat. So they stopped. "Oh, get a room." Harold said jokingly.

"Don't give them any ideas." Rebecca stated seriously.

Harold grinned innocently at Rebecca.

"Yea actually I don't want to give them any ideas," Harold said, almost laughing.

Rebecca laughed slightly and took Harold's hand.

Jim put his arm around Kelly's waist and pulled her closer. "And when did you two become an item?" He asked.

Rebecca looked at Harold.

"It's relatively new relationship," Harold said with a grin.

"But don't go blabbing, I don't need the grief from my mother when she finds out I love an officer and not my fiancee," Rebecca said in a low whisper

"Why don't you two go frolic around? Leave us along for a while." Kelly suggested.

"Can I trust you?" Rebecca asked Kelly.

"Of course." Kelly answered.

"Fine then." Rebecca agreed.

"fine then," Kelly said.

Rebecca shrugged and she and Harold walked off to walk around the ship for a while.

"Well, I suppose someone is bound to walked by us sooner or later. We'd better go somewhere else." Jim said.

"How about your room?" Kelly suggested.

"Sure." He led Kelly down to the officer's quarters, surprisingly unnoticed.

He opened the door for her and she walked into the room for the second time that day.

He took off his jacket and threw it on the floor. "I know. I have a small room."

"No, it's nice. It's quite... cozy." Kelly said while looking around.

"Cozy? Well, I've never heard this room called that before." Jim said.

Kelly sat down on his bed. "At least you have privacy. I have to share a room with my sister."

"Your sister seems quite 'cozy' with Harold."

"Yeah, who would have thought." Kelly smiled for a moment.

"Do that again." Jim said as he sat down next to her.

"Do what?"

"Smile." He replied. Kelly smiled again, and looking at him really gave her a reason to smile. "I like it when you smile. It's beautiful. You are beautiful."

Kelly leaned towards him and kissed him again (they seemed to like that... a lot!). He touched the back of her hair with one hand, and his other hand was on her knee. The kiss was one filled with love and it went on and on. Jim's hand began to move from her knee, to her thigh, and then to her hip. His hand traveled up until it was on her breast. Kelly pulled away for a moment.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I am so sorry." Jim kept apologizing.

_This may be my chance to rebel. To get back at my mother. He seems like a physical type of guy. I don't want to lose him... I'd like this to be with a man I love, not a man I am told I have to love. _"No, no... It's fine. Go right ahead." Kelly said,encouraging him to go on.

"I'll only go as far as you let me, okay?" Jim said.

Kelly nodded. He kissed her softly. Kelly grabbed onto his neck and pulled him closer so that the kiss was a passionate one. His hand moved to that spot again.

He began to push his lips harder against hers. She started to lean back onto the bed. Jim came on top of her. Their lips never parted. Kelly started unbuttoning his shirt.

He stopped her, "Are you sure about this?" He asked.

"Yeah, of course I am sure." Kelly tried to smile for him.

He started kissing her neck, "I love you." He said sweetly.

"I love you too." She said back to him.

She let him undress her. She gave herself up to him, and let him do whatever he wanted.

He tried to go easy on her, knowing that she was inexperienced. Whenever it hurt, Jim would try to kiss the pain away. Some parts were wonderful, and some parts were not. And when it was over, Kelly laid in Jim's arms, and she'd never felt more safe, nor had she ever felt more loved.

--------------------

**Heyy. Thanks so much for reading! Uh... the ending of this chapter was a bit hard to write, so if it's total crap, let me know. But I was kind of in a hurry. Anyway... I wholeheartedly apologize for making this chapter so short. But the next chapter, which is already partly written, should definitely have a lot of drama, and it should be longer than this. Thanks so much! Please review!**

**---Kelly.**


	8. Counting The Stars

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

_**Chapter 8**_

Kelly awoke. Her eyes fluttered open slowly and she looked around. The room was still dark, due to the lack of windows. But she adjusted her eyes so she could just make out the time on the clock that hung on the wall. It was almost three o'clock in the morning.

She leaned back onto her pillow, and closed her eyes. Then, she realized something wasn't quite right about where she was. She sat up quickly and looked at the bed. There was Jim, covered with a sheet. Kelly looked down at herself and noticed she was too. She took the blanket and covered herself with it.

Jim woke up and looked at her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him. He kissed the top of her head gently. "How long were we asleep for?" He asked groggily.

Kelly was now fully awake and looked at the clock again. Her heart beat sped up and she said in a panicked voice "It's nearly three in the morning! I've been here for 5 hours! Mother must be furious!" She jumped up and brought the blanket with her. She was wrapping it around herself.

Jim laughed at her attempt of modesty. "Kel, you don't need to do that. We've already seen each other naked."

"But if somebody were to walk in right now I'd rather they not see me like this." She stated.

Jim sat up and motioned for Kelly to come closer to him. He didn't stop staring at her. "What?" She asked. He didn't stop looking at her.

"You are so beautiful." He stated. Despite her brown hair being a mess, and some of her make-up had worn off.

Kelly leaned down and kissed him. The kiss went on and on for a few seconds until the door swung open and the light flickered on.

Harold Lowe stood in the doorway. "Oh! Holy shit!" he exclaimed in surprise.

Without looking at the door, Kelly and Jim pulled apart and there was only an inch of space between their faces. "I think we've been found out." Jim said.

Kelly looked up and saw Harold standing by the door. She held the blanket around herself tighter. Jim look at him, annoyed. "Don't you know how to knock?"

Harold looked at the floor, embarrassed, and feeling awkward. "I was, uh... The Captain asked me to wake you up. Because, uh... he... you're late for your shift." He kept stuttering.

"Gee, thanks for the wake up call, Harry. But as you can see, I'm a bit busy right now."

"Jim, if you don't get to the bridge soon, Captain Smith is going to be pissed. You could get fired for this!" Harold pleaded. "Not only for being late, but also for having a girl in your room!"

"I don't want you to get fired. I should leave." Kelly said meekly.

"No, wait!" Jim said as he put on some pants. He then turned towards Harold, "Nice way to make her feel uncomfortable."

"It's not my fault you slept with her." Harold retorted.

"And it's not my fault your such an ass."

"Jim, she's only 17 years old!"

"You think I don't know that!?"

"Stop it!" Kelly interrupted. "Both of you, just stop it!"

Harold closed the door so none of the other officers might wake up and walk by to investigate the situation. "

"This is a bad situation. A very bad situation." Harold said.

"It's not too bad. It actually would have been fine if you hadn't walked in here and made a big deal of it." Jim stated.

There was a knock on the door. "Is everything alright in there, Moody?" First Officer Murdoch said through the door.

"Oh my gosh!" Kelly squealed.

"Moody? Did I just hear a girl in there?" Murdoch asked.

"No, no. That was just Harold." Jim answered, and Harold hit him on the arm.

"What was all that yelling I heard a few minutes ago?" Murdoch inquired. "Open the door."

"Just a minute." Then he turned to Kelly. "Kel," Jim whispered, "Hide under the bed."

She slid under the bed, and stayed very still and very quiet.

Harold sat on the bed (which wasn't very comfortable for Kelly), and Jim fixed the room up a bit. Then he went over and opened the door.

Officer Murdoch walked in. "Harold, what are you doing in here?"

Harold felt very nervous, "I was just talking to Jim."

"Yes, sir, I owed him money from a bet we made last week." Jim lied, and then he took a coin from his wallet that was on the small table next to the bed. He handed the coin to Harold, "Well, I suppose that's all. Goodnight Officer Murdoch, and Goodnight Officer Lowe, I need to get some sleep."

"Jim, you are needed on the bridge." Murdoch said. He walked around the room. Kelly could see his feet when he walked past the bed.

"Oh, of course. Then I will get ready right now. Goodbye Officer Murdoch." Jim said while smiling nervously.

Murdoch turned toward the door, but something caught his eye. "Who's clothes are those on the floor?" He was pointing at Kelly's dress.

"Oh, those?" Jim asked, and Murdoch nodded. "Those are mine." He answered. Murdoch looked at him, shocked. "I mean it's my mother's. I bought it for her in Southampton."

"Your mother died when you were 11, remember?" Murdoch stated.

"Oh, yes. Of course I remember. I just bought it because it reminded me of something she always used to wear. So technically it's not for her, it's for me..." Then Jim realized what he was saying, "Not that I wear dresses, or anything. And not that there would be anything wrong with a man who enjoys wearing dresses. How a man expresses himself is not any of my business. But I do not wear dresses."

"Right..." Murdoch said, seeming quite unconvinced.

Murdoch left, and shut the door behind him.

"So, do dresses make you feel pretty?" Harold teased.

"Oh, sod off, you little shit bag." Jim snapped.

"Little? I happen to be both taller and older than you." Harold stated confidently.

"Harold?" Jim said irritably and held his hand out.

"Oh, right." Harold took the hint and handed the coin back to Jim, "There you go."

Jim helped Kelly get up from under the bed. She still clasped onto the sheet that was around her.

"Kelly, we need to get you back to your room." Harold said. "And Jim, you need to get ready to go to the bridge. Don't worry. I'll make sure Kelly makes it back alright."

Jim nodded, "Thank you, Harry."

"No problem. And I won't say a word of this to anyone." Then he looked at Kelly, "Not even to Rebecca."

"Thanks." She said and walked over to Harold. She gave him a gentle hug. Then when she pulled away, she didn't notice the blanket had slipped and now one of her breasts was visible.

Jim was just staring, and Harold said "Kelly, your... uh..." Then he pointed to the blanket, "The blanket kind of..."

Kelly looked down, "Oh my gosh!" And then she fixed it. Her face turned red.

"I'll just wait out in the hallway, and let you both get dressed." Harold said and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"That was close. We almost got caught." Jim said while sitting down on the bed.

"We did get caught, and we're lucky it was by someone who we can trust." Kelly said. She picked up her clothes which were laying on the floor where they had been carelessly thrown in the passion of the moment. "And now I must go into the fiery depths of Hell, to be scalded by the wrath of my mother."

"I wish you could stay here, with me. I wish you didn't have to go back and I wish I didn't have to work. If only we could stay here for the rest of the voyage." Jim said as he pulled his shirt back on.

"I wish that too, but you know how impossible that is. With the way things are now, it's just not even plausible."

Kelly got dressed, with the help of Jim, and then they opened the door. Harold was standing in the hallway with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall. "Ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready." She replied softly. She looked at Jim and gave him a kiss goodbye, "I love you."

"I love you too." He said and watched her and Harold leave.

They walked through the bridge and then on the deck in silence. Then they made it to the first class entrance and walked though the hallways.

"Are you alright?" Harold finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes, of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, I'm sure that what you've just done may very well be taking it's toll on your emotional state."

Kelly stopped walking and stood in front of Harold. She looked right up at him, because she was much shorter than him. "Do I look that weak to you!?" She said seriously. "I'm a lot stronger than everyone thinks I am." She paused for a moment, "And you can stop looking at me like that."

"How am I looking at you?" Harold asked. He was confused.

"You're looking at me like I'm a child who can't take care of myself and I've done something wrong. You're looking at me like I need help, but I don't need anybody's help!"

"Whoa, calm down. I was just worried about you, that's all."

"Worried? You don't have to be. Because I can take care of myself just fine."

"You don't seem to be acting fine right now."

"Well, you don't understand." Kelly said.

"Tell me how you're feeling right now, and I'll try to understand." Harold said sincerely.

"I just gave myself up to a man who I'm pretty sure I'm 'head over heels' in love with, and I'll probably never see him again. I've made such a mistake." Kelly started to cry a bit.

"It's okay. Don't cry." Harold tried to comfort her.

"No, it's not okay! It's this damn society that we live in. It's this whole world that is built on a foundation of large egos and overconfidence, and stupid rules of how one should and shouldn't act. Things between Jim and I will never work out because of this world we're in. It just wasn't mean to be."

"If you love him, that's all that matters. You can both work something out so you'll see each other."

"That's the whole problem! We'll never see each other! My mother will likely forbid it and ship me off to another all girls school. As much as this pains me, I can't see him anymore. I already went way too far and I'm only going to break his heart."

"Why would you break his heart?"

"I want to spare Jim as much heart break as possible. But you know that none of this will work out. I can't keep leading him on, while inside I know already that I can't be with him, as much as I wish I could." Kelly explained.

"You just have to believe that it can work out. No problem is insurmountable."

"I don't want to hurt him." Kelly said but her voice sounded like a mere whisper.

"I know you don't."

"I don't have the slightest clue as to what I'm doing anymore. I don't know what's going to happen to me in the future. I might be successful. I might be forced to marry a man I don't love. I might be able to stay with Jim and be happy for the rest of my life. I might end up pregnant and alone. Or I could regret this for the rest of my life. I don't know anything anymore."

"You are very emotional right now. Let's just get you back to your room." Harold said.

"No! Mother is going to be furious! She'll strangle me for this!" Kelly cried.

"Surely no mother would ever lay a hand on her own child..."

"You don't know my mother. She's slapped me before. I'm not sure I can even remember a time when she was ever kind to me."

"It'll be fine. I'll go with you." Harold said kindly.

"Thank you."

They walked to the Hoffman's room. The second the door opened, Kelly's mother rushed to her, "Where on earth have you been!?"

Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman were standing in the sitting room. Rebecca must have been in bed.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman. How are you doing?" Harold greeted. But he was ignored.

"Where were you!? It's three in the morning!" Mother was just as Kelly expected her to be, utterly furious.

"I was out." was all Kelly answered.

"Out where?" Father asked.

"I was out having sex! Happy now?" Kelly snapped. Her parents look horrified.

Mother grabbed Kelly's wrist harshly and practically threw her down onto the couch. "You did what!?"

"Well, Mother, you should know this by now." Kelly said sarcastically, "See, when a man and a woman fall in love-"

Mother interrupted her. "With who!?"

"Just a guy." Kelly said.

Mother glared at Harold Lowe. "It was you, wasn't it!?" Harold backed up, looking shocked and confused. "Wasn't it!?"

"No, ma'am." He stuttered, shaking his head.

"It wasn't Harold." Kelly said. "He was just kind enough to escort me back here."

"I want to know who it was, and I want to know now!" Mother yelled.

"Harold, you can leave now." Kelly said.

"Will you be alright?" he asked.

"Yes." Kelly replied, and looked at her parents.

Harold left, after politely nodding to Mr. And Mrs. Hoffman.

"Tell me who it was!" Mother screeched once the door shut.

Kelly sat there silently.

"Fine. Don't tell me. I have a solution to this anyway." Mother said casually.

"What? What are you going to do?" Kelly asked worriedly.

"I'm accepting the Morley's offer." Mother stated.

"What offer?" Kelly asked. She was confused.

"You are to be engaged to George Morley, whether you like it or not."

Kelly put her hand up to her mouth. "No..." She mouthed.

"His parents were discussing it with us last night, and George showed interest in you. And don't think we didn't see what you did last night with the wine. But he told us he forgives you for that. Everything is set." Mother explained.

"But I don't love him!" Kelly protested.

"It's not about love. It's about securing your future. George has become a handsome young man. Very well mannered and polite. His family is wealthy, and George is going to end up taking over for his father some day. It's the perfect marriage. Nobody will ever have to know what you did tonight."

"But I don't want to marry George." Kelly said, her voice sounding bitter and angry.

"What is wrong with you!? Do you only think about yourself!? If you were my daughter, I'd be ashamed to have you as my child!" Mother yelled and then realized the words that came out of her mouth.

"Wait! What!?" Kelly asked. "_If_ I were your daughter!? What are you talking about!?"

Father sighed. "Oh, Ellen, I suppose we better just tell her now. No use in keeping it from her much longer."

"Father, what's Mum talking about?" Kelly asked, seeming almost like a young child.

"Kelly, have you ever noticed that you don't look a think like me?" Mother asked, "All your life I've said to your father, 'My God, she looks exactly like Dorothy'."

"And who is Dorothy?" Kelly asked.

"Well," Mother began, "Shortly after Rebecca's birth, your father," Mother glared at Father for a moment, "began to form a relationship with a younger woman, named Dorothy. She had brown hair, exactly the same shade as yours. I would know, because I had had dreams of ripping it out of her pretty little skull. Your father saw her constantly, and he assumed I hadn't the faintest idea as to what he was doing all those times he went away. But I wasn't going to leave him. I had no reason to. You see, this marriage was one based on money too, not on love. Your father was a fine man, and came from a wealthy family. I wasn't about to embarrass myself and my family, as well as give up all that wealth. And sometime later, a child was conceived out of their adulterous affair. Then, on December 14th, 1894, a baby girl was born. She was named Kelly Ann."

"So you are not my mother?" Kelly asked.

"No, I am not."

"Then what of my real mother?"

"She died shortly after giving birth to you. So you see, you've been a pain since you were born." Mother stated. "Then your father took you, and to avoid rumors in the press we have raised you as our own."

Kelly took a deep breath, and had a look of anger on her face, "And that is why I've been treated so unfairly all these years? This is why I've been told all these years how I'm no good, and how I'm not perfect enough for you. This is why every single day I've never been good enough!" Kelly's voice broke and sadness entered the last sentence, but she regained some strength in her voice and added, "This is why you've resented me all my life?"

Mother gave her a stern look She didn't say anything.

"Daddy?" She asked as she looked at her father with tears in her eyes.

"I love you, sweetheart." He said to his daughter, "And I'm so sorry."

Kelly turned abruptly and ran to the bedroom. She slammed the door behind her and the tears fell. She tore off the necklace (the same one that her father had given her years before) she had been wearing earlier, that she had back on when she left Jim's room, and she hurled it at the wall.

Rebecca woke up suddenly as Kelly screamed in anger. "Kelly!? What on earth is going on!? What's wrong!?"

Kelly knocked everything off of the dresser. Bottles of perfume and lipstick containers fell to the floor. A container of powder spilled all over the floor. The lid to a metal container caught onto her arm and made a cut. She hissed sharply from the pain and held onto her arm.

"Kelly! Stop this, right now!" Rebecca yelled.

"You are telling me what to do?" Kelly asked her. "Oh yes, because you always know exactly what to do. You're the perfect child."

"Oh dear, what has Mother done this time?"

"Mother? I have no mother. My mother died a long time ago. And she's buried along with all the hopes and dreams and self esteem I've never had." Kelly stated furiously, and emotionally. "And now you may redeem your role as favorite daughter, without me as your competition. Although it never was much of a competition anyway. All I've ever done is bring people pain and suffering. Now, I'm done. I'm through with all of this. I'm out." She said and left the room.

She walked right out the door, and it seems her parents had just went to their own bedroom. She slammed the door behind her as hard as she could, and more tears came. Kelly brushed some of the hair out of her eyes, and away from where it was sticking to her face. _What have I done? _She thought.

She ran up to the deck and crashed into the railing which stopped her. She was breathing heavily. She turned towards the bridge and saw Jim standing up there, staring out into open ocean. He was working, so she knew she couldn't bother him right now.

Kelly found a bench on the deck, and laid their for the night. Although it was freezing outside. The cold ocean air seemed to bite her skin. She hadn't brought a coat with her, nor anything to keep her warm.

She sat there shivering under the dim moonlight, staring up at the sky trying to do the impossible task of counting the stars.

--------------------

**I am sorry if this seems short too. I (Kelly) wrote this chapter all by myself, and I'm afraid I am not too good at expanding chapter to make them longer. Thank you for reading. I hope some things you did find funny in the beginning, and I hope it was dramatic, as I intended it to be. I know that Kelly and Jim's relationship is way too rushed. But due to complications in the layout of our story, Kelly and Jim had to sorta 'do it' soon. Now it is about 4 in the morning on April 13th, 1912 in the story. In less than 48 hours the ship will be gone. That's kinda exciting. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope it all makes sense. Right now it is 12:27 AM in my house in New Jersey, and I am dead tired. I want to go to sleep. So I am going to bed right now. Thnka you so much. Please please please review!**


	9. Empty

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

_**Chapter 9**_

Rebecca also snuck out of the room, after picking up everything Kelly had knocked off the dresser. She walked down the hall quietly. The air was cold, which she learned immediately when she walked out onto the deck.

She looked around and saw emptiness. Nobody was outside at this time, except for those who were working.

Officer Moody was standing on the bridge, talking to Officer Murdoch. _If anyone knew what is wrong with Kelly, it'd be him. I want to ask him what he's done to my sister!_

Rebecca marched to the bridge, and a man stopped her "You can't go up here. Sorry, miss."

"Oh, alright then." She said and moved aside. The man walked past her. Rebecca smiled and went anyway, without him seeing. "Mr. Moody!" She called.

Jim turned around, "Yes?"

"What did you do?" She asked.

Jim looked confused.

Rebecca repeated the question, "What have you done to my little sister?"

Murdoch, who had been standing there the whole time looked at Jim, and he remembered Jim's odd behavior that morning. He put the evidence together. "Moody... I think you'd better tell the lady right now what you did to her sister."

"Stay out of this, Will." Jim snapped at him irritably.

"Kelly came into our room about 15 minutes ago, screaming and crying and throwing things around. She looked like she was having an emotional break down! Now what have you done?"

"Oh my gosh! Is she alright!?" Jim asked.

"I don't know. She left and ran off, I don't know where she went."

"I have to go find her." Jim said and was going to walk off, but Murdoch stopped him.

"You are in enough trouble right now as it is, being an hour late for work. You need to stay here." Officer Murdoch stated plainly.

"Then may I please go get Harold, he'll help her." Jim asked.

"Sure, but he's sleeping. He'll likely beat the shit out of you for waking him up now."

"Well he woke me up this morning, so I think it'll be well deserved." Jim stated as he walked towards the officers' quarters. "Oh, and Mr. Murdoch. Watch your language while in the presence of a lady."

Jim opened Harold's door and turned on the light, "What the hell..." Harold sat up, half asleep. "Jim... what do you want?"

"Kelly ran away. Rebecca is on the bridge asking me what I did to her."

"Then I suppose you should tell her then."

"I can't leave the bridge right now. Could you go with Rebecca to look for her?"

"I'm tired."

"It will give you some alone time with Rebecca. All alone on the deck. Under the stars. Quite a romantic setting, if you ask me."

Harold got up. "Fine."

"Thanks so much." Jim said. "When you walked Kelly back to her room, did she seem upset?"

"A bit."

"Oh, no. I never should have gone that far. She told me it was alright. I feel terrible." Jim said remorsefully. "I hated to see her hurt like that. I let her know it hurts the first time, and she said it was fine. But I still shouldn't have done it. She's so sweet and happy... and I ruined her."

"No, you didn't. She was upset because she likes you, but she thinks it will never work out because of her mother. She's just sad and confused."

"Can you please go with Rebecca and look for her? Please?"

"Fine." Harold said as he got dressed.

Harold and Jim appeared again and Rebecca smiled. "Hello Mr. Lowe."

"Hello, Ms. Hoffman."

"Harold, could you please help me find my sister, Kelly? I'm really worried about her." She pleaded.

"Harold?" Officer Murdoch questioned, "The two of you are on a first name basis?"

"Oh, well... we sort of keep bumping into each other. All coincidental, really." Rebecca explained.

Officer Murdoch looked at the two as if he did not believe them. But he shrugged it off and walked away. "Nice cover," Harold said. Rebecca smiled at him. "Of course I'll help you find Kelly," he said as an answer to her previous question.

They began to walk down the stairs towards the bow and once they were sure no one could see them they took each others hand.

"I don't know what's wrong with Kelly. it must be something Mother said. Mother always seems to say something to upset her." Rebecca stated.

"When did she run off?"

"About 20 minutes ago. She came into our room and started crying and screaming. She threw stuff. I'm not sure I've ever seen her so upset."

"Well, she's had a rough night." Harold stated.

"I don't even know where she was." Rebecca said.

"Well, when I brought her back to your room, she was very emotional." He explained.

"You brought her back? When?" Rebecca asked.

"I guess a little while before she ran off. After I found her in bed with Jim, I walked her back. Your mother was yelling at her. Finally Kelly told me to leave. I wouldn't have left if I'd known how upset she was."

"Wait... What!?" Rebecca asked. "She was in bed with Jim!?"

"Oh... nevermind. I really was not supposed to tell you that..." Harold said, wishing he could take back what he'd said. "Please don't tell Kelly I told you."

"She and Jim... Oh my gosh..." Then she whispered sharply, "They had sex?"

"Yes. I'm afraid so." Harold said.

"Last night I feared that my sister had given up her virginity, and that proved false, but now I hear it again, and it rings true. I just can't believe it. She known him for two days! She can't possibly be in love with him like that."

"You've known me for two days." He said.

"Well... that's different."

"How so?"

"Well... we're both more mature... and we both understand what love means... and..." Rebecca didn't know what to say. Then she say him smirking at her, "Oh, sod off!"

"Anybody can fall in love, anytime."

"But she's too young to have done _that_! I haven't even done that yet."

"Want to fix that?" Harold said sarcastically. Rebecca just laughed. "Seriously. Right here on the deck. It'd be quite the show."

"No thanks, Harold. Let's just concentrate on the matter at hand here and find Kelly."

"It's so cold out here." Rebecca said as she shivered.

"Here." Harold said as he took off his coat and handed it to her.

"No. I couldn't possibly. You need it."

"No, please take it. I'd rather freeze to death than see you shiver."

Rebecca smiled and put the coat on. it was so big, it nearly engulfed her. But she felt very warm and safe in it.

Then on a bench up ahead, Rebecca saw a lump, from far away. "Oh my gosh!" She said and ran up to it. Harold followed her.

Upon reaching the bench she saw Kelly, who had fallen asleep. Rebecca touched her bare arm. It was freezing. Rebecca took off the coat and put it around Kelly, and Harold helped her to sit up. Kelly's eyes opened and she saw Rebecca and Harold. She slowly stood up, but said nothing.

"We'd better get her back inside." Harold said. Rebecca agreed.

Kelly walked silently, between them, still wearing the coat. She looked like an empty shell.

"Kel, please speak to me." Rebecca said softly.

"I think it best we leave her alone right now, Love." Harold said.

The three of them walked back down to first class, to the Hoffman's room. Kelly and rebecca snuck in. "Goodnight." Harold said and kissed Rebecca's cheek.

Harold left and they went to their room. Rebecca laid in her bed, and thought about Kelly for a while.

Kelly sat in bed and was silent.

Rebecca eventually fell asleep. Kelly, however, didn't sleep at all.

Harold got back to the bridge, feeling cold and exhausted. He saw Jim. "Did you find her?"

"Yes." was all Harold mumbled.

"Is she okay?" He asked worriedly.

"No. She's not alright. I looked in her eyes and you know what I saw?" Harold said coldly, and Jim shook his head slightly. "I saw emptiness. I saw sadness. Perhaps you really should have thought first before doing what you did." He stated and walked off. Jim stood there, feeling terrible. He felt empty too, and most of all he felt guilty.

--------------------

The next morning Rebecca woke up but did not rise from her bed. She stayed there and looked at her sister who was curled up in the covers.

"Kelly did you sleep at all?" Rebecca asked.

Kelly shook her head in a negative response.

Rebecca sighed and almost felt like crying.

"Kelly..." Rebecca walked over to her sister. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." Kelly answered dully.

"Are you sure you're fine? I was worried about you last night."

"I'm sure you were." Kelly said unenthusiastically.

"Listen, Kel, I know you had a bit of a rough night. And if you want to talk about anything, you know I'll listen."

"I don't need your goddamn sympathy, Rebecca." Kelly said rather coldly. "I'll bet Harold told you." Rebecca nodded, while looking down at the floor and avoiding eye contact with Kelly, "Well, he's sure trustworthy. I wish you both luck." Kelly stated sarcastically.

She then got out of bed, dressed and then made up a lie saying that Kelly was indisposed but mother did not care and as they walked up the hall towards the breakfast hall Rebecca swore she heard her mother mutter something about her daughter being a little slut.

Rebecca sat down at the table and was stationed between Molly Brown and Thomas Andrews.

Rebecca tried to focus and not show she was upset…but it was hard.

_Why did she have to do that?_ she continued to ask herself.

After breakfast Rebecca went up to the deck and found Harold on duty and he happened to just be strolling through the gymnasium to make sure no one was getting into any trouble this early in the morning.

"How's Kelly?" he asked when he saw her.

"She's as best as can be expected I suppose. I don't think she slept at all, she didn't go to breakfast. Harold I'm really worried about her," Rebecca said, nearing tears.

Harold sensed the tears and took Rebecca into an embrace.

She began to quietly cry into his arms. "I'm so scared for her and her well being," she sobbed.

Harold nodded and rubbed her back soothingly. "I know love," he said as he tried to comfort her.

Rebecca sucked in the tears, she never was one to cry long. When she looked up at Harold he smiled a smile of assurance and she did feel assured. If only for a short while.

Then Rebecca found herself reaching up and Harold was reaching down to meet Rebecca's lips. The two kissed with such passion they might of tried to go farther, had they not been in a public place.

They continued to kiss and the kiss just became filled with more and more passion. It was not until the door flung open that they pulled apart.

Rebecca let go of Harold and then she felt true terror struck into her when she saw her mother standing in the door way with her father.

"Oh…god…" she whispered.

"What were you doing!?" Mother asked in a soft but menacing whisper.

"Mother!" Rebecca cried in surprise. "What are you doing here!?"

"We followed you. You just walked off with no explanation. We can't let anything happen to you too." Mother stated.

Mother grabbed Rebecca's wrist harshly and dragged her out of the room, after looking at Harold evilly, and said "Stay away from both of my daughters, or you'll live to regret it."

"Are you trying to ruin this family?" Mother hissed.

"I'd say it's already ruined." Rebecca said.

"You're engaged! Have you already managed to forget that!?"

"Well I guess so," Rebecca snapped at her mother.

"Don't speak to your mother that way." Father stated.

"You need to marry Michael, for the sake of our family. It's a good match." Mother said, sounding desperate.

"No I do not need to marry Michael. not the sake of the family, you don't even care about if I am happy or not. Neither of you do!" Rebecca cried.

"I do care about your happiness. That's mostly my reason for wanting you to marry into wealth. You'll be set for life."

"Well I don't care if I am living in the gutter! I want to be happy! Not supressed into a life that I don't want like you. The last thing I want is to be like you," Rebecca snapped.

"Trust me, Rebecca, it's not easy being a woman. We don't get many choices."

"Because you won't give me any!" Rebecca interrupted.

"You'll see I am only doing what's best for you. And someday, you'll thank me. You will."

"Well I've already decided mother. I am not marrying Michael!" Rebecca cried.

"I won't hear any more of your insane protests! You're going to marry Michael and you're going to be a good wife!" mother yelled. "I don't understand why you don't want this. Michael is rather handsome, so I'm sure you two could have beautiful children. He's filthy rich and can provide for you for the rest of your life. You could have a perfect life. So why must you fight this?" Mother asked.

"Because I don't give a damn about money or wealth or my position on the status and class ladder! And if you think I would even let that man touch me then you are more insane than I thought!" Rebecca answered.

"I just want what's best for both of my daughters." Mother explained.

"You've already screwed up Kelly's life pretty good." Rebecca snapped.

"Kelly screwed her own life up." Mother stated.

"Well you not being the loving caring mother that she needs did not help! If she is messed up it's because of you and all of that mental abuse you caused her though out her entire life!" Rebecca cried.

"I am not going to argue about this with you here in public" Mother stated and finally looked around, acknowledging they were still on the deck. Only a few people stared at them.

"Well I am not arguing with you about it at all! I refuse to marry Michael and if you try to force me...Ill run away," Rebecca cried

"No you won't." Mother said. "You'd never be able to."

"Yes, I would. And I'll take Kelly with me."

"I'll see to it that you can't possibly run away."

"Do what you must, but you can't stop me from being happy." Rebecca said and walked off angrily.

"Come back! Rebecca!" Mother yelled, but Rebecca didn't listen. She just wanted to get away.

Rebecca stormed off down to the bow of the ship and looked out at the water. She glanced behind her once and saw her parents were not following her. _They will not force me to marry Michael. I will take Kelly and I will get the hell out of here_, she thought.

--------------------

Kelly sat on her bed, holding onto the bedpost, feeling like it was the only source of stability she had at the moment.

Kelly looked down at the cut on her wrist from the night before. She remembered the piece of metal piercing her skin as she shoved everything off the dresser. It had, of course, stopped bleeding by now. She ran her hand over the cut slowly. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. Her eyes remained dry. She didn't want to sleep. She didn't want to eat. She didn't want to live. She didn't know what she was doing anymore.

Kelly got up, and walked out of the room. She went up to the deck. The whole time, she looked down at her feet. 'I'm such a terrible person. I really am. In a way, I used Jim, to rebel against my mother, and to just get it all over with. Now what can I do?' She thought. Then a voice broke through her thoughts, "Kelly!"

Kelly looked up and saw Jim running towards her. Then there he stood in front of her. "Kel." He said, and he too saw the emptiness in her, "Oh, Kelly. I'm so sorry." He said. He brought her into an embrace.

As warm and safe as she felt in his arms, she pushed him away and backed up. "I used you."

"What?" Jim asked, confused.

"Half of me wanted to do that with you last night, because I loved you. The other half wanted only to rebel against my mother. And some other piece of me just wished to get it all over with. Last night, everything felt so wonderful. But it was wrong. We were both so wrong."

Jim reached out to grabbed her hand, but she backed up more. "It's too late," She cried, "We did what we did, and we can't take it back. And now everything around me is falling apart! I just lost my virginity to a man I've only known a few days. I just found out I'm a love child. And to top it all off, I'm soon to end up married to a man I don't even love!"

Jim looked at her sympathetically, absorbing every word she said, and he felt even more confused. "We can make it through this... together. I want to help you. I don't like to see you like this. When you're sad, it kills me. This is eating me up inside!" Jim yelled, then his voice softened, "I just want to be with you, forever and ever."

"Well, I think that's impossible now." Kelly stated and turned away. She walked away. Jim felt it'd be best to leave her be. What more could he do?

Rebecca looked down at the waves hitting the side of the ship. 'Why does mother have to be so cruel?' she thought. Close by she heard soft crying. She turned around and saw Kelly. 'Kelly!" she cried as she went up to her. She pulled her sister into an embrace and sat down with her. "It's ok" she said soothingly.

Kelly was unusually quiet. Like as if all the spirit had been sucked out of her.

"They've finally broken me." Kelly said after an awkwardly silent moment.

"Kelly...what are you talking about?" Rebecca asked softly.

"I'm not myself anymore. I can no longer be myself. And from now on, I won't be able to chase after my own happiness anymore. I'm stuck."

"Stuck? Kel, I have no idea what your talking about."

"You'll know soon enough." Kelly answered,

"Well...mother knows," Rebecca said softly.

"Mother knows about what?" Kelly asked.

"About Harold and I. She walked in on the two of us kissing this morning in the gymnasium," Rebecca answered.

"Oh, wow. You poor thing." Kelly said sarcastically. "You have such a tough life."

Rebecca eyed her, "Well I know your not to messed up. You still have sarcasm," Rebecca snapped.

"You wouldn't understand what I'm going through. Although you know about what I did last night, all thanks to Harold who can't keep his mouth shut. And you must already know about my mother."

"What did mother do?" Rebecca asked.

"Your mother? She did everything! She's horrible! I hate her! I know it's wrong to hate your own mother, but I do! I can't stand her." Kelly tried to calm down, "As for my real mother, she's dead."

"Kelly what the hell are you talking about?!" Rebecca asked.

"Well, as it turns out, we're half-sisters. Father cheated on 'Mother Dearest'."

"Oh my gosh. Really?"

"Yes, and I'm the product of his affair. And my real mother, died after giving birth. So I've been causing people pain and I've been a total annoyance since I was even born." Kelly explained.

Rebecca hugged Kelly. "Kelly your not a pain. No matter what you always have me. you can't get rid of me," she said as she tried to smile.

"I know." Kelly said plainly, "I know I can't possibly get rid of you, and believe me, I've tried."

"Hey!"

"I was only making a joke, Rebecca. Don't get so offended." Kelly said.

"Yes I know Kelly, you were only making a joke," Rebecca replied.

"Okay then..." Kelly said, and there was an awkward type of silence for a moment.

"Anyways it is nearly lunch, we should be heading there now," Rebecca said after a moment

"Yes, of course." Kelly agreed, and they both walked back to their room.

When the two sisters returned to their suite mother and father were sitting on the couch, as if waiting the return of Rebecca.

"Hello Mother, Father." Rebecca greeted plainly.

"Rebecca." Mother said, seeming angry.

"Oh, mother you should stop getting angry so much. It makes you look older, really old," Rebecca said.

"I'm extremely disappointed in you, Rebecca." Mother stated.

"Oh, wow. Mother is mad, and I'm not the cause of it." Kelly said and smiled, but then turned it into a frown as she received an angry look from Mother.

"Well I do not care," Rebecca replied, waiting for the screaming to begin.

But no screaming began, "Go get ready for lunch." Mother stated, not looking at either of her daughters. Both girls just stood there, confused, "Go!" Mother yelled.

Rebecca jumped and then went racing for her room. Kelly followed.

"That was odd," Rebecca said as she chose a dress.

"Hmm... quite." Kelly answered.

Rebecca got a fresh corset on and then her dress. Then she had some makeup added.

Kelly got her corset tied, like she always did. Annie accidentally tied it a bit too tight, so it was quite uncomfortable.

Isabella finished with Rebecca and she sat at her vanity waiting for Kelly, who was still putting her dress on.

Annie closed the back of Kelly's green afternoon dress and finished up her hair.

Rebecca then added a necklace that had a little gold heart on it that her aunt had given her a few years back.

They finished up and went out into the sitting room where their parents were. Mother said nothing, only stared at them."You both look rather lovely." Father said kindly, and tried to smile at them.

They all walked to lunch, Kelly and Rebecca walked behind their parents. Suddenly, the Morley family appeared from their rooms and entered the hallway. "Oh, hello dears." Mrs. Morley greeted.

Kelly smiled, but that faded when she saw George staring at her. "Good afternoon, George." Kelly greeted.

"Good afternoon, Kelly." George said back. It was somewhat of an awkward moment.

"Kelly, I am so happy about your decision!" Mrs. Morley said cheerfully and hugged Kelly.

Rebecca had no idea what she was talking about.

Kelly smiled, a fake one, of course. They all started walking again, The Hoffmans and the Morleys chatting politely along the way.

"So..." George said as he walked beside Kelly, "This is kind of weird."

"Yes... yes it is." Kelly agreed.

"Well, this is exciting." George said unenthusiastically.

"Not really." Kelly said sadly. George looked like he was about to say something, but Kelly interrupted him, "Look, you got what you wanted. Nothing else matters."

"This wasn't my idea, Kel, you have to believe it. I mean, It's not that I didn't want this, but I didn't want it to happen all like this."

"Let's just get through today. Of course, everyone will know sooner or later."

They walked silently.

Rebecca was confused, _I thought Kelly wasn't talking to George... And what decision is Mrs. Morley talking about!? If it was something important, Kelly would have told me already, right? But she didn't want me to know about how she lost her virginity to Jim. Perhaps she has been keeping secrets from me._

They continued to walk and Rebecca watched as George tried to make small talk with his now fiancee, but of course Rebecca did not know anything about this arrangement.

Once near the dining place, George offered Kelly his arm. Kelly hesitated, but got a warning glance from Mother. She linked arms with him politely. Good thing Mother didn't see her rolling her eyes.

Rebecca looked at the couple and felt like gagging. _What the hell is going on here?!_ she thought.

They all sat down at the table. George sat next to Kelly, and Rebecca sat next to Kelly and Mother.

Rebecca took a sip of her water and began to look over the menu.

Under the table, somehow George's hand ended up on Kelly's knee. "Excuse me, George, would you kindly remove your hand from my knee, please."

George looked down, even though he couldn't see under the table cloth, "Oh, sorry." He apologized and removed his hand.

Rebecca ordered her food and began to look around. Then she took another sip of her water.

Kelly sat quietly, _I wonder what Jim is up to right now... Oh, shit, Kelly! Stop thinking about him! It will never happen..._

Rebecca looked over and saw Harold enter the room. _I wonder if he's come to rescue me_, she muttered. But instead Harold went to see the Captain at his table.

Kelly also saw Harold enter._ I wonder how Rebecca is doing, after Mother and Father caught her and Harold... Mother seems pissed, at least it's not at me this time._

Rebecca watched as Harold sat down and talked to the Captain._ I wonder what they are talking about,_ she thought.

Mr. Morley stood up, along with Mrs. Morley. They looked at Kelly and George kindly. "We have an announcement to make."

Kelly sunk lower into her chair, wishing she could just leave. George looked nervously at his father. he knew Kelly was embarrassed, and that she didn't want this. George gave his father a look, wishing him to stop.

"Our son, George Morley, is now engaged to the Hoffmans' youngest daughter, Kelly." Mr. Morley said proudly.

Upon hearing this, Rebecca spit out the water she was drinking, "Oops..." She said.

Harold had looked up at the sound of the name 'Hoffman'. He looked over just to see Rebecca spitting out her water. "Rebecca!" mother hissed. "Sorry...again. I guess the water thing is becoming popular with me," Rebecca said. Harold smiled, but Rebecca did not notice because she was trying to get the water off of the table.

"Welcome to our family, Kelly." Mrs.. Morley said, and then sat down.

Rebecca's mouth was open wide,_ Oh my gosh... So that explains it all. Kelly was talking to him because they are now engaged! That's why she said she was stuck! I'm sure this wasn't done willingly, on her part. Damn you, Mother. Forcing Kelly into a marriage she isn't ready for, nor does she even want!_

Rebecca was now even more angrier, she looked around and then saw Harold staring at her. She gave him a tiny wave that mother did not see. 'Hello,' she mouthed. Harold pretended to applaude the spitting of the water and Rebecca laughed slightly.

The food came and Rebecca ate in silence, Harold soon left to get back to work and Rebecca wished he had stayed.

Kelly also ate quietly, and she wished she could either disappear, or at least get everyone to stop staring at her.

After lunch Rebecca went off to find Harold. At this point she did not care what mother wanted. When she found Harold he was just going on his break. "Hi," she said when she saw him. Harold spun around at her voice and pulled her into an embrace. "I thought your mother wouldn't let you out of sight," he said. "Oh, I snuck off while she was talking to the Morley," Rebecca replied.

"Ah, I'm in love with an escape artist," Harold said. Rebecca smiled, the two walked into an empty room so they could 'talk'. Once they made sure no one would see them Harold pulled Rebecca into an embrace and began to kiss her.

--------------------

"Ah! That was so embarrassing!" Kelly said as she walked down the deck with George.

"I know, I wish my father would have just shut his mouth."

"No offence, but your father is a jerk. He didn't have to announce it to everyone!"

"He's just excited. He's even going to pay for the whole wedding, your parents don't have to spend a single penny!" George stated cheerfully.

"It doesn't matter." Kelly said.

"I know, you don't want this." George said.

"Damn right I don't want this!" Kelly yelled. "But you do."

"Well, I don't mind marrying you." George said.

"I suppose we have no choice now." Kelly stated softly.

"Nope, I guess not."

"Rebecca seemed quite surprised. Did you see her spit out her water?" Kelly asked.

"Yeah... She does that often, doesn't she?"

"Yes, I'd assume she does." Kelly said and smiled slightly.

"Whatever the future holds, we can get through it... together." George stated hopefully.

"Sure..." Kelly nodded sorrowfully, she knew this was likely to be her future, but in her heart she knew this isn't what she wanted.

--------------------

**Sorry it took us a while. And this time I also rushed in editing. Hopefully there aren't took many errors. Thanks for reading and please please please review! We love all of you who have read and reviewed and everything! Thank you!**


	10. Making It Count

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

_**Chapter 10**_

Rebecca wrapped her arms around Harold and the two stopped kissing.

"This is so strange," Rebecca murmured as she rested in his arms.

"But it feels so right, doesn't it?" Harold asked.

Rebecca nodded. "I want to be with you forever. I just don't even want to move from your arms," She said.

Harold smiled down at her. "I know," he replied.

"Do you think that there is any way we can be together?" Rebecca asked.

"You can runaway. When the ship docks, get off with me and we can runaway," he answered.

Rebecca thought about this for a moment. "But I couldn't possibly leave my sister. Especially now since she is engaged to that jerk George Morley," she said.

"Yes I heard that. Who is this George Morley fellow? I know Jim will not be too pleased when he finds out," Harold asked

"George was this old friend of Kelly's. They went to school together and George has had a crush on her for years. I guess Mother and Mrs. Morley were talking and now those two are engaged," Rebecca explained.

"Ah, I wonder if Jim has heard the news yet," Harold said.

"I have no idea. I suspect that Kelly is with George right now." Rebecca replied.

--------------------

Kelly went back to her room to lie down for a bit. _I don't want to marry George. I do not love him. I've never loved him. I'm sure he has plenty of feelings for me, but those are feelings I am unable to return. There are no sparks between him and I. But with Jim... oh boy, those were more like fireworks! It's all so impossible, and it's over. I hope I didn't break Jim's heart too badly._

"Kelly Ann," Mother said as she barged into the room, "Tonight I want you on your absolute best behavior. And you and George must walk together, sit together, talk together. You are now a couple."

"Well, I don't see a ring." Kelly said sarcastically.

"Mr. Morley and George are going to buy it when we get to New York." Mother answered.

"Wonderful..." Kelly said unenthusiastically. "A rock to weigh me down more, so I can't possibly ever run away or have a moment of peace!"

"Kelly, you will behave yourself, and marry George. Whether you like it or not. And you'll forget all about that other boy you've been seeing, whoever he is."

"Yeah... sure, Ellen." Kelly said.

"I mean it. You are not to see him again." Mother said, and then she remembered what Kelly said, "You called me Ellen?"

"Well, I can't exactly call you 'mother' anymore, now can I?" Kelly stated.

Mother sighed, and left the room. her nose pointed high in the air, as usual.

Rebecca soon bid farewell to Harold for the afternoon and after sharing another passionate kiss she went to her state room. She saw Kelly on the sofa and sat down with her. "So... I am sorry about this whole engagement business," she said.

"Well, I did tell you I was stuck."

"Well you didn't tell me you were stuck with an engagement,"

"I didn't know how you'd react. And of course, I didn't expect you to spit again..." Kelly tried to suppress her laughter, "That was quite funny."

Rebecca giggled. "Yea it was, and Harold was sitting there with Captain Smith. He saw it!" she cried.

"Ha, now that must have looked rather attractive."

"Yes, he found it quite lovely,"

"I'll bet." Kelly said.

"He asked me to run away with him. But I told him that I can't. Not with you stuck in this arrangement," she replied.

"Thanks. You and him are so lucky. You two are still together." Kelly said sadly.

"Well...wait what? Since when were you and Jim not 'together'? Rebecca asked.

"Since I found out it was an impossible relationship in the first place!" Kelly snapped.

"Nothing is impossible!" Rebecca cried.

"I'm engaged!" Kelly cried.

"So am I!"

"Well, still. It's too late. It's just way too late now. It's over." She said.

"It's only over because you are being ridiculous. I am telling you Kelly, nothing is impossible! Run away if you must! But do not deny your heart the one person that makes you truly happy!" Rebecca said.

"I can take care of this all by myself. It's fine. You and Harold will have a fine life together, at least until Mother tears the lovely couple apart."

"Well, then I will fight her. I am not going to be torn from him because of mother and her rules." Rebecca replied.

"Good luck with that." Kelly said.

Rebecca smiled a fake smile. "I so appreciate your support."

Kelly was looking at the floor, "You're lucky, you know that."

"What do you mean? Because I have Harold?" Rebecca asked.

"No. You didn't screw up everything like I did."

"You didn't screw everything up.."

"Yes I did! I went out and slept with a man I hardly know."

"But you loved him?"

"Yes... yes, I did."

"And do you still love him?" Rebecca asked.

"I don't have to answer that."

"Hate to spoil your thoughts on the matter...but yes you do." Rebecca said.

"I don't know anymore." Kelly said, "I'm not sure."

"You just think you don't love him anymore, or you just think you can't love him anymore?"

"I can't! Don't you get that! I can't be in love with him! It's not possible! Just get those stupid fantasies out of your mind of a happy ending, because it's not going to happen, ever!" Kelly yelled.

Rebecca stood up. "You know what?! I'm sorry for trying to help you! You can mend things the way you want!" Rebecca screamed. Then she stood up and stormed off.

--------------------

"Jim!" Harold yelled as he walked towards him.

"Why must people keep yelling my name everyday, everywhere I go?" Jim said.

"People yell my name all the time too." Harold replied, "Especially the ladies."

Jim smiled slightly for only a second. "I take it your not still mad at me then."

"I wasn't mad at you in the first place. I was just tired this morning. It was after 3 in the morning. I didn't mean to snap at you like that this morning. It had just been quite a rough night."

"Alright." Jim said, "What do you want?"

"Well, I sort of have to tell you something." Harold stated slowly, "Something that may strike you as being quite unpleasant, and perhaps a bit unsettling. Now I warn you, don't get too angry-"

Jim grabbed Harold by the collar, "Just tell me what the bloody hell you're rambling on about!"

"Kelly's engaged." Harold said.

Jim let go of Harold's collar. "What!?"

"To some fellow named George Morley."

"I am going to strangle that goddamn piece of shit! I'm going to make him so sorry he ever stepped foot on this ship! I'm gonna-"

"Jim, calm down."

"How can I calm down, when some other man is going to marry her!?"

"Please do not get angry."

"Oh, I'm not angry... I'm livid! Utterly furious! I am beyond pissed!" Jim yelled angrily.

"It will be fine. We'll work everything out." Harold said.

"First she absolutely loves me, and then she sleeps with me, then she is mad at me and starts telling me that we've made a mistake and she can't see me anymore, and now she's going off and marrying some other guy! A guy who is hardly a man, but only a boy!"

"She didn't choose this!"

"But of course, She must have consented to this arrangement."

"No, she didn't. From what Rebecca knows, after I walked her back this morning, her mother was so mad at her, that she accepted the marriage arrangement she had been discussing with the Morleys yesterday without Kelly's knowledge. So this was all set up around her, and she feels she has no way out. You think she's mad at you and that she hates you, but it's the exact opposite. She loves you. Her world is falling apart because of her mother. This marriage isn't what she wants. She didn't choose this life."

"So... she still loves me?" Jim asked.

"Yes." Harold answered.

"And who might you both be speaking about?" Officer Murdoch said as he walked up behind them.

"Mr. Murdoch!" They both said in surprise.

"I asked you both a question. Who is this girl?"

"Some first class lady." Harold answered.

"And Jim, you slept with her?" Mr. Murdoch asked.

Jim froze for a moment. "I did."

"When?"

Jim looked down at the floor, "Last night."

"So, you slept with a passenger?"

"Yes, sir." Jim answered shamefully.

Murdoch sighed. "So that dress I saw, belonged to this young woman?"

"Yes, sir." Jim answered again.

"Are you aware of how much trouble you could be in?"

"Yes, sir."

"And are you sure this girl is worth risking your career and everything you've worked so hard for in your life!?" Murdoch yelled.

"Yes, sir!" Jim replied.

"Then go after her and get her back." Murdoch stated.

Jim looked at him for a moment, feeling quite confused. Then he nodded and smiled. "Thank you."

"I won't tell on you, since you're obviously blinded by love. But just don't get caught, please." Mr. Murdoch said.

"I promise." Jim said, and Mr. Murdoch left.

"So, are you going to try to win her back?" Harold asked.

"Damn right." He answered.

--------------------

"Kelly." Mother said coldly as she entered the room. "Time to dress for dinner." Then she looked around, "Where's Rebecca?" She asked worriedly.

"She'll be back. She just went out for some air. It gets a bit stuffy when you're around." Kelly explained and smiled, feeling satisfied with what she said.

---------------------

Rebecca walked down the deck and looked out at the sun as it was starting to set. She looked up towards the bridge and saw Harold and another officer talking. Then she heard the horn announcing dinner. She really did not want to have to go back in there with her sister, but she slowly began to make her way back to their state room.

She entered the room, "Good afternoon, Mother."

"Oh, hello, Rebecca." Mother said. She stilled seems a bit angry at her. "Time to dress for dinner."

Rebecca sighed and went into her room. There she saw Kelly, dressed already in a black dress with some beads and lace on it. Her maid, Annie, was just finishing up her make-up.

Rebecca stared at Kelly for a moment then she picked out a blue dress with black embroidery on it. Isabella helped her get dressed and then she put on a necklace while Isabella fashioned her long blonde hair onto the top of her head. Then she helped Rebecca put on some earrings. All in all the end result was breathtaking.

Then Rebecca got a small bag and walked out into the sitting room where mother and father were already dressed and ready to go. Rebecca did not say hello or anything to either one of her parents and she simply walked out of the room, walking behind mother and father and Kelly at a short distance behind her.

When they reached the dining saloon they were seated at a table that had the DeWitt Bukater's, Mr. Ismay, Mr. Andrews, Molly Brown, the Morley's, and a few other people. Including a young man who Rebecca swore she had never seen before.

Rebecca sat down in between Molly Brown and Thomas Andrews, mother and father sat near the Morley's and Mr. Ismay, and Kelly sat between George and Mr. Hockley.

"Hello, Kelly," George says cheerfully,

Kelly smiled slightly at him.

Mr. Hockley turned towards them, "Miss Hoffman, Mr. Morley, congratulations on your engagement."

"Thank you, Mr..." Kelly was unsure of his name.

"Mr. Hockley. But you may just call me Cal." He answered.

"Okay then, thank you, Cal."

George and Cal shook hands and began some odd conversation about politics. Kelly could care less about it. Not that she wasn't smart enough to understand every word they said, but she just wasn't interested in the conversation they were having. And, of course, she was in the middle of it.

"So tell us of the accommodations in steerage, Mr. Dawson," Mrs. DeWitt Bukater said loudly, "I hear they're quite good on this ship."

The young man who Kelly and Rebecca had never seen before answered, "Best I've seen, ma'am. Hardly any rats." He had a satisfied smile on his face. Everyone around the table laughed politely.

"Mr. Dawson is joining us from the third class. He was of some assistance to my fiancee last night." Cal stated.

Kelly wasn't listening much to the dinner conversation anymore. She was thinking. _I love Jim... don't I? I thought I did. But it's wrong. It's impossible. It seems so wrong, but it feels so right. I'm not regretting what I did last night. I'm regretting that I couldn't stay with him, since that's really all I want. I want... no... I need to feel his arms around me. I need to hear his voice and I need to laugh again like I used to. Now the walls are closing in around me. I'm suffocating. I have less and less space, and my voice is getting too broken for me to scream. After all, Jim may very well have been my salvation, but now I've pushed him away. I get what I deserve._

Then Kelly forced her attention back to reality.

"And you find that sort of rootless existence appealing, do you?" Mrs. DeWitt Bukater asked Jack.

"Well, yes ma'am, I do. I mean, I've got everything I need right here with me. I got air in my lungs and a few blank sheets of paper. I love waking up in the morning not knowing what's gonna happen..." He took a bite from his bread and chewed as he spoke, "who I'm gonna meet... where I'm gonna wind up. Just the other night I was sleeping under a bridge, and now here I am on the grandest ship in the world having champagne with you fine people."

Then the waiter came by with more champagne, "I'll take some more of that" he said, and then continued, "I figure life's a gift, and I don't intend on wastin' it. You never know that hand you're gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at ya. Oh, here ya go, Cal." he said and threw a pack of matches across the table to Cal, who was trying to light a cigarette. "To make each day count."

"Well said, Jack," Molly Brown said,

"To making it count," Rose said and raised her class.

Everybody followed, "To making it count."

Kelly noticed Cal was the last to raise his glass and put on a fake smile. He didn't seem to happy.

Kelly thought about what Jack had said, _He lives a nice life. He's free to do what he wants. I suppose being wealthy comes with a price, and the cost is your freedom,. If he makes each day count, perhaps I can too..._

Rebecca smiled at Mr. Dawson and then took a bite of her roll. _He's quite right_, she thought.

Soon dinner was over, the men left to go to the smoking except for George who stayed with Kelly. Rebecca watched as the Mr. Dawson fellow kissed Rose's hand before leaving. Rose looked in her hands at the note that he had left for her.

Rose stood up and left. Rebecca watched after her and then she stood up and left, Kelly and George followed her. When she got towards the clock Rebecca saw Rose and the Mr. Dawson fellow talking. Rose looked down at Rebecca as Rebecca was starting to walk up the stairs. "Rebecca would you like to go with us? You and Kelly? We're going to a party in the third class," Rose asked.

Rebecca thought about it for a moment, "I guess so," she replied.

Rose smiled and began to follow her friend. "Kelly, come on, Rose wants us to go with her to this party thing,"

Rebecca said as Kelly got closer. "Very well," Kelly said.

"Rose, you go ahead. I need to ask Harold if he can go with us." Rebecca said.

Rebecca, Kelly, and George went up to the bridge and found Harold about to get off of his shift. To Kelly's dismay, Jim was also there, speaking to Harold.

"Hello," Rebecca said. Harold turned around and smiled at her.

"Well, don't you look lovely tonight," he said. Rebecca blushed,

Kelly was standing partly behind George. She and Jim stared at each other for a few moments. She smiled slightly at him, and he smiled back.

Then George sent him an angry look, so Jim looked away.

"I just came from dinner. How would you like to go to this party? It's down in the third class. It sounds fun. This girl who I know asked if Kelly and I wanted to go with her. I don't want to go without you," Rebecca said.

Harold smiled at her, "Sure. I'll go, just as long as you dance with me," he said.

"Of course," she replied with a smile. Harold returned the smile, took her arm and then the two went downstairs to the steerage. When they all got down there, they sat down at tha table together with Rose, listening to the lively music and clapping along with it.

Rose was watching Mr. Dawson dance with a little girl with brown curly hair.

Rebecca went over to Kelly and smiled. "I'm sorry about earlier Kelly," she said. Harold looked at her, confused about what she meant.

Kelly looked up at her sister and returned the smile. "It's alright," she replied.

Rebecca and Harold sat down at the table and they had a glass of beer that was sitting there.

The music was loud and lively. People all around were dancing, drinking, and having a good time.

Kelly grabbed another glass of beer; it was only her second one that night. George, however, had had about at least three times that already.

George stood up and held out his hand towards Kelly. "Would you dance with me?" He asked

"Sure. But I don't know this dance." She said and stood up with him.

"Neither do I..." he replied.

He grabbed her right hand, and slipped his left hand around her waist, which made her a bit uncomfortable. He pulled her close to him... a bit too close.

Kelly reluctantly placed her hand on his shoulder. They looked at the people around them and tried to copy their movements. George accidentally stepped on Kelly's foot. "Ow!" She whispered in pain.

"Sorry." He replied. They went on dancing awkwardly.

"See what we miss by being in first class. We miss all this fun." Kelly stated.

Needless to say, after a few beers George definitely didn't have much rhythm or grace. He stepped on her feet a few more times before the song ended.

"Well... that was fun..." Kelly stated, even though it really wasn't much fun.

The next song came on, and once again they danced. The alcohol was definitely taking it's effect on George as he danced clumsily, bumping into people all around the room. Kelly tried to keep up with him, although George really was not a good dancer.

As the next song started and Rose stood to dance with her friend Harold stood up and held out his hand for Rebecca. "Alright, you promised me a dance," Harold said. Rebecca smiled and took his hand and the two began to dance.

Jim came down into the third class area, knowing that Harold was there with Rebecca, and also hoping Kelly was there. He saw Harold sitting down at a table with Rebecca. "Hey, Harry." he said as he sat down with them, "Have you seen Kelly?"

Rebecca spoke up, "I think she's dancing with George."

Jim felt a bit angry. "Oh, thank you." he said and left. He saw Kelly and George dancing.

"George, please slow down." Kelly said. But George kept dancing and laughing. He was definitely drunk. Kelly could smell the beer on his breath.

"Mind if I cut in?" She heard a voice say. Jim went in between the two of them, and replaced George.

"Hey!" George yelled angrily.

Jim and Kelly kept dancing, mainly because Jim wouldn't stop and let go of her. But, she had to admit, Jim was a much better dancer than George, and was much more sober.

"What are you doing here?" Kelly asked.

"I came to see you. We have to talk."

"We don't have to talk about anything. Now leave me alone."

"I can't leave you alone."Jim said.

"Why? Why can't you just go away? That way you won't get hurt as badly."

"I can't just leave you, because I love you."

"This isn't the right time to talk about this."

"There seems to never be a right time to talk about this!"

"I just can't be with you. It's utterly impossible, and it will never work out. I tried to stop you from getting hurt."

"Well, you failed at that, because you have hurt me." He said.

"You would have been hurt more if we'd continued this. You could have been fired."

"Is that what you worried about?" He asked.

"Yes, that and a few other things." She answered.

"Like what?"

"Like everything! My life, your life, other people's lives! It would have never worked."

"Hey, get your hands off of my fiancé!" George yelled at Jim.

"How about you back off for a minute and let me finish talking to her!" Jim yelled back.

"No! Go away! Nobody wants you here!"

Jim let go of Kelly. "I don't have to go away. I'm an officer on this ship and I can go wherever I please."

"I think," George said, as he pushed Jim, " you should leave now and go back to your stupid job and stop harassing people who are way better and more important than you."

Jim pushed George back. The George tried to punch Jim in the face, but missed as he ducked.

Kelly just stood there and watched this go on, "Stop! Jim! George! Both of you, just stop this right now!" They didn't stop, nor did they pay attention to her. Both men just continued throwing punches. People stopped dancing and watched the fighting. "Fine!" She yelled, "Then I'm not going to marry either one of you!"

Rebecca heard this, "Oh, please don't tell me that's Kelly yelling..." She got up, along with Harold to see what was happening at the other side of the room.

Jim punched George in the face, and in return George shoved him hard, sending him crashing into a table.

"Stop it! I'm not worth fighting over!" Kelly yelled.

"This isn't about you, Kel, "Jim said as he ducked George's fist, "This is about my dignity, and about me pounding this son of a bitch's face into a bloody pulp."

"Well, fine then!" Kelly yelled furiously, "I'll just-" she was interrupted when Jim pushed George, causing him to fall on Kelly. She, of course, couldn't hold him up, so they both fell to the floor.

Jim was shocked at himself, "Kelly... I'm so sorry..."

"Save it!" She yelled as she and George stood up.

Rebecca ran over towards Kelly, "Are you okay?" She asked softly.

"Yeah, I will be." She answered.

Harold stood behind Jim and was about to say something when he turned around, but instead Jim rushed by him, looking very pissed off.

Kelly and George stood there, as everyone else went back to drinking and partying. "What is wrong with you!?"

"He started it!" George yelled.

"He just pushed you, and then you went and tried to punch him! That was completely stupid and idiotic of you to do! Even if he did start it, you didn't have to continue it!"

"I was just looking out for you. You didn't want to talk to him. You didn't want him around. I was trying to make him go away,"

"Well, it worked. He's gone." Kelly said sadly and turned away from George.

He put his hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry. I just let my anger get the best of me."

"It's fine." She said.

"Let's get out of here." George said. He grabbed her hand and they left third class. They walked back to the Hoffman's room.

"Mother," Kelly greeted coldly. "George and I are going to talk for a few moments. Okay?"

"Oh, of course, dear." Mother said, trying to act warm and loving, "Go right ahead and talk."

They went into Kelly's room, and closed the door.

"George, this engagement thing is kind of awkward. I mean, I know we really don't get much of a choice, since my parents are absolutely adamant about this. But it's just... we're old friends. We've known each other since we were little kids. I feel like it's weird, since we used to be best friends. I still think of you as just a friend."

George just nodded.

"Kelly?" Mother said as she knocked on the door, and began to open it.

Kelly quickly pushed her lips against George's and kissed him. Her mother came in and saw this, "Oh, sorry to interrupt you two. I'll just leave you two alone. I just wanted to let you both know Mr. Hoffman is still in the smoking room, playing cards. And I'm going over to see Mrs. Morley for a while. When Rebecca comes back, let her know where we are."

Then Mother shut the door. Kelly stopped kissing George, the moment the door shut again.

"Wow. I've wanted to do that since I was seven years old." George said, looking surprised.

Kelly sighed. "Well, it got my mother to leave us alone."

"If only that officer would leave us alone." George mumbled.

"He won't leave us alone. I know I have to talk to him sooner or later."

"Why? Just forget him."

"I can't forget him. He's important to me. He was the first one I kissed. And he was also another first..."

George thought for a moment, "You lost your virginity to him?"

"Yes." Kelly said sadly, "Last night."

"I'll kill him!" George yelled.

"You already almost did. And also... I still love him."

"Then why won't you talk to him?"

"Because it will never work between him and I, especially now that you and I are engaged. It's impossible." Kelly explained.

"But, you love him, and you don't love me." George said.

"I do love you, just not in that way. I love you more like a friend. Not like a husband."

George stood only about two inches away from her, "But I've loved you since we were children." He put his hands on her hips.

"Uh... George..." Kelly felt kind of uncomfortable with George being so close to her.

"I loved you when you were gone. And now fate has brought us together again." He said, and then kissed Kelly. She tried to pull away, but it was hard to since he kept pressing his lips to hers.

"George, how many glasses of beer did you have?" Kelly said, because she could taste the alcohol, and he was acting like he was drunk.

"I don't know. I lost count." He explained.

"You lost count!?"

"Shut up." He said and pushed her onto the bed.

"George, you're scaring me. Perhaps you should go to your own room and sleep it off."

He pushed her down and started kissing her again on her own bed. She was frightened now, "George. Please stop." He was now on top of her, and he was trying to get her dress off. Kelly was practically frozen with fear. "Please, I beg you, let me get up." He pinned her down. "George," She tried to reason with him, "You're drunk. You're not thinking straight. You don't want to do anything you might regret."

He was drunk. So drunk he could hardly control himself, nor could he control his feelings.

"George, get off of me!" Kelly yelled, "No! Stop it!" He didn't stop. "I said no! I don't want this! George!"

--------------------

Mr. Lovejoy entered the first class smoking room, after he had just taken a peek down in third class to spy on Rose DeWitt Bukater and Jack Dawson. He went back to his employer, Caledon Hockley and told him what he'd seen.

Cal was talking to Benjamin Guggenheim, Albert Morley, and Thomas Hoffman. "I found her," Lovejoy said, "She was down in steerage... with him."

Cal replied, "She's down there with that... that filth?"

"Yes." Lovejoy replied. Then he looked over at Mr. Hoffman, "I believe I also saw your two daughters there too. One in the midst of a fight, and the other was sitting with some officer. And I'm sure I also saw young Mr. Morley down there, as well. He was also in the middle of a fight with some man."

Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Morley were just as shocked at this as Cal.

--------------------

After the fight with Jim and George Rebecca and Harold left. They went up to the deck and looked out at the stars. When no one was looking Harold stole a kiss. Then they went to his room because Rebecca was not ready to go back to her suite yet. When they were in his room they both sat down next to each other. They were both silent.

"Well... I had a nice time..." Rebecca said.

"Yea..." Harold agreed, feeling awkward, "I did too." "I hope Jim is going to be ok," Rebecca said, trying to make small talk.

"Oh, I'm sure he will be. He's tough." Harold said, "Although I think he is more emotional than I thought he was. I've never seen him as upset as I've seen him today."

"Well I think he's heartbroken over this thing with Kelly," Rebecca replied.

"She's been playing with his emotions."

"No she has not!" Rebecca said, trying to defend her sister.

"She is quite the heartbreaker. She will hardly even talk to him anymore. He thought she hated him because of something he did. he was afraid it was because they had sex." Harold stated.

"I still can't even imagine my little sister doing that."

Harold nodded, "Yea," he said.

"Anyway..." Rebecca said. She leaned forward and kissed Harold.

Harold was taken aback a first, but then he found himself deepening the kiss.

The two found themselves unable to pull apart and unwilling to pull apart. Rebecca felt Harold's hands reach around to pull her closer to him and she did not care. All she wanted was to get to that point in their relationship that would be the greatest step they could ever take.

They laid down on his bed, still refusing to let go of each other.

"Harold," She said as she pulled back for a moment, "I think we should... you know... uh..." Rebecca was stuttering, not sure how to say how she felt.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Harold asked. "Just look what it did to Kelly and Jim's relationship."

"So? I could care less about Kelly and Jim's relationship right now. All I want to think about is you. All I want right now is you."

"And I just want you, but this might not be the best thing for us to do right now. This might not be the best time."

"It's the perfect time!" Rebecca cried.

Harold stared into Rebecca's eyes for a moment, seeing the sincerity in them. "This is really what you want?"

"Yes." She answered.

"I love you so much." He said while putting his hand on Rebecca's cheek. She smiled and kissed him again.

Harold deepened the kiss as they did before but this time Rebecca relaxed on her back on Harold's bed. Then they went on to take that final step, showing each other how much they really mean to the other. They made love and when it was all over Rebecca had a feeling inside her, a feeling she had never felt before. That feeling was love and completeness.

--------------------

"Damn you, George." Kelly said as she laid in bed shaking. George had left after he'd possibly taken the last bit of Kelly's dignity. She looked at the bruise on her arm from when he had to struggle to hold her down. She sobbed, _He was drunk. Utterly drunk. The real George wouldn't have done this. He usually has some self control, and I know that. Damn it. How could he do this to me!? This time hurt more than the first time. This was only my second 'experience', but it hurt so much more. Probably because the whole time I was trying to fight him off. The first time was beautiful and special. Now, I suppose it's nothing more than a game. Damn George. _

She pulled the blankets around herself and sobbed, somewhat quietly. Soon she feel asleep.

--------------------

Harold and Rebecca held each other and fell asleep for a while. They were with each other, and it didn't matter to them that they were in a small officer's room on a ship. They didn't care that it was against the rules of the world. They just wanted to be in each other's embrace, if only for a little while. Rebecca woke up, and moved closer to Harold, feeling his body heat. "Good morning, sweetheart." He said as he too woke up and kissed the top of her head.

"Good morning." She said softly and smiled.

Rebecca looked out the window and saw it was still dark out. "What time is it?" she asked. Harold looked over at the little pocket watch that was on his night stand.

"It's going on five thirty," he said. Rebecca's eyes went wide, "Oh my gosh!" she cried. She sat up and went running for her clothes that had been throw carelessly to the side.

Harold smiled at her and chuckled. "Sweetheart, this isn't exactly funny," Rebecca cried.

"No your right it isn't, just seeing you run about in such a tiny room is in fact funny," Harold said. Then he got dressed and helped Rebecca back into her damn corset. She attempted to make herself look presentable like the two had not been up to stuff, but she failed.

After the two shared one or two more quick, yet loving kisses she went tearing off for her state room and Harold left for his shift where he would come up with some lie for being so late. When Rebecca approached her door, she saw a faint light coming from the inside. This meant somebody was up.

Before she could attempt to turn right back around the door flew open and there was mother and father, eyes bulging, and they looked like they were about to loose it. Mother grabbed Rebecca's wrist and shoved her into the state room. This would not be pretty...

--------------------

**Well... we hope this chapter is okay. And I really hope it's all in the right order. Most of the scenes were written out of order and then slipped in at the appropriate moment in the story. So I hope it's all okay. Now... George seems to have done a pretty bad thing... Just take some alcohol, some George, and mix it all together until you end up with one horny little devil. lol. Yea... sorry... stupid joke... Anyway, and we see Rebecca and Harold took another step in their relationship... oooh... haha. we made a few interesting jokes while writing that scene. hahaha. Thanks for reading chapter 10. (wow. ten chapters already! holy crap!) and chapter 11 will be done soon, we hope. Please review!**


	11. How many times can I say I'm sorry?

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

_**Chapter 11**_

"Where in the world have you been all night!?" Mother yelled.

Rebecca looked down at her feet. "I was just out," she said.

Mother walked in a circle around Rebecca "Out?" She said softly, "You were just 'out'." Then she stopped suddenly and harshly slapped Rebecca's face, "You were with that damn officer again, weren't you!?" Rebecca didn't answer, she only looked at the floor, "Weren't you!?"

"Possibly," she said.

"You little slut." Mother said.

Rebecca stared harshly at her mother. "Fine, you know the truth. Yes mother...I was with Harold and we made love," Rebecca said.

"How could you do this? Are you trying to ruin everything? You have a good life all planned out for you. To marry Michael, bear his children, and be a good wife. But instead you run off and mess around with some filthy officer. You're just throwing your life away like Kelly." Mother said.

"Thank you, Mother. I suppose I have thrown my life away, haven't I?" Kelly said, she had woken up from the screaming, and was now standing in the doorway of her room.

"You both have! You are both little whores! You are both getting married as soon as possible. You have to stay away from these other men or else. Especially men who work on ships. They aren't good for you."

"Mother," Kelly said, "I happen to like officers. Especially since the man I slept with was also an officer."

Mother looked like she was gonna have a heart attack.

Rebecca stared at her mother. "Mother, I just want to tell you just this one thing...I am not marrying Michael," she said in a low whisper.

"Yes, you are! Even if I have to force you too!"

"I would rather kill myself then go through with that damn wedding!" Rebecca screamed.

"If I don't kill you first." mother said threateningly, "I'd rather you kill yourself than throw your life away and embarrass this family any further!"

"Mother the only one that is embarrassing this family is you!"

"You both have gone too far. You'll end up in Hell now for what you've both done."

"Then I suppose we'll be seeing you there, won't we Mother?" Kelly said. trying to force a smile.

"The kind of mother who does not want her daughters sleeping around like prostitutes. The kind of mother who just wants what's best for her daughters. The kind of mother who won't let you ruin everything."

"We're not sleeping around. I've only been with Harold, and Kelly has only been with Jim."

Kelly looked down at the floor nervously and sadly.

"And now Kelly's man has a name. I'm going to the captain about this."

"No!" Kelly yelled. "You can't!"

"And why not?" Mother asked.

"I don't speak to him anymore."

"And you won't speak to him anymore. I'm reporting this Jim to the captain." Then she turned to Rebecca, "I'd say they can kiss their jobs goodbye."

Rebecca was clearly upset now, she could no longer hide it. She was upset that she had blurted Jim's name, and she was upset that she would now cost Harold his job. The one thing that he just might love more than her. "If you say anything then you can kiss me goodbye, because I will run, I will take Kelly with me and we will run. You will never see us ever again," Rebecca said as she tried to hide the fact that she was on the verge of tears.

"Go to bed." mother snapped. Rebecca stood in front of Mother with tears in her eyes, and Kelly still stood on the other side of the room by the doorway. "I said go to bed!" Mother yelled again, so both girls went into their room.

When Rebecca was in the room she broke down onto the floor in sobs.

"Kelly, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to blurt out Jim's name, and now because of me Jim and Harold both are going to loose their jobs," Rebecca sobbed.

"It's fine." Kelly said emotionlessly. "It doesn't matter anymore. Nothing matters much anymore."

"Kelly what are you on about?! Of course it matters! The man I love is going to loose his job, and be stripped down to nothing because of me...he'll probably hate me forever. And Jim is going to loose his job because of me!" Rebecca cried.

"Because of you? All you did was say his name. It's not like you slept with him."

"If I had not of said his name his identity would not be known! He would just be some officer that you slept with. Now mother knows that it's Jim," Rebecca said.

"Whatever. I'm not in the mood to discuss this right now. I have other problems at the moment. Goodnight." Kelly said and got into her bed. Turning over to look at the wall, and not towards Rebecca.

"Yes I can see you really care about Jim. What, did you just hang around with him so that he would sleep with you?! Maybe mother was right, maybe you are a slut," Rebecca said.

Kelly began to cry in her bed.

Rebecca then stood up and snuck out of the room. She had to get to Harold and warn him before mother got to the Captain. Mother had in fact already left to alert the Captain. _Well at least she won't be on his good side, these men need there sleep,_ she thought as she walked through the dark halls.

When she reached the bridge she looked around and saw Harold down by the poop deck. He seemed to be looking at something, Rebecca walked down the stairs and glanced just once and saw her mother yelling at some poor officer that she had to see the Captain right that moment.

Rebecca rushed up to Harold. "Hi," she said out of breath.

"Rebecca? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"My mother is going to talk to the Captain. She knows what we did, and she also knows about Jim. She is going to tell him everything!" she cried.

"Oh, God..." he said, "How did she find out!?"

"Well it was 5:30 in the morning when I returned...I was looking like I had been up to ...stuff, she put two and two together. She is quite smart," Rebecca said.

"We can lie. We can both just deny it ever happened." Harold said quickly.

"It's her word against ours," Rebecca replied.

"I'm an officer, and she's a crazy bitch. Pardon my opinion." He said.

"And my father's word...I think he wants me married to Michael as much as she does," Rebecca replied.

"We can just pretend that they got the whole story wrong. We could just try to deny it all."

"Yea, we could possibly deny it, but what about Jim? We need to find him too and warn him."

"Alright, come on. We'll go get him." Harold said and took her hand.

Harold found his room and quickly threw open the door. "Jim, we have a bit of a problem here. Rebecca's mother knows everything. She's going to tell the captain now."

"She knows about the relationship you and Rebecca have? I thought it was already pretty obvious." Jim replied plainly.

"Well, she knew something was going on, but now she knows about what else we've done." Harold said. Jim looked at him, confused. "We did the same thing you and Kelly did. Which, by the way, her mother knows about you too. So your job is in jeopardy as well."

"Oh, shit." Jim said.

"I'm really sorry, Jim, I accidently blurted out your name and now my mother is demanding to see the Captain. I'm really sorry, I did not mean to drag you into this," Rebecca said. Harold squeezed Rebecca's hand tightly.

"It's fine." He said as he jumped out of bed. He quickly dressed, getting out of his pajamas. "Where is Kelly, by the way?"

"She's back in our room. Crying her little eyes out." Rebecca said.

"She's crying!?" Jim asked.

"Yes, and I am not sure why. All I did was call her a slut and she started sobbing." Rebecca answered.

"Oh, nice way to make her feel better." Jim stated.

"Stop." Harold said. "Jim, Kelly still loves you. You know she does. You have to go and get her back sooner or later. Because you know that you love her too."

"I did go back to her, and I tried to talk to her. She didn't want to speak to me."

"We'll sort out your romantic life later, but right now we have to get up to the Captain and either stop my mother, or deny everything!" Rebecca interrupted.

"I think we should deny it all," Harold said.

"I think so too," Rebecca agreed.

"Fine." Jim agreed. they all rushed up to the bridge.

By that time they saw her mother with the officer she had been yelling at and the Captain. He was nodding and listening and then he looked up and saw the trio, all standing there, staring at him and her mother.

"Ah, just the men I'd like to see." Captain Smith said.

"Rebecca! what are you doing up here? I told you to go to bed!" mother yelled.

"Mr. Smith," Rebecca said, "I promise you, all that my mother has told you is false."

Harold looked from Captain Smith to mother to Rebecca, praying that this would work.

"Whatever do you mean Miss. Hoffman?" the Captain asked.

"I mean that whatever my mother has told you is a lie," she answered.

"But I'm completely sure there is something going on between Mr. Lowe and my daughter. I'm sure of it!" mother cried. "And some other officer named Jim," At the sound of his name, Jim looked around nervously, "Has been having a sexual relationship with my youngest daughter, who is only 17 years old!"

"She's not even your real daughter," Rebecca muttered.

Mother's jaw fell open, "That is none of your business, Rebecca."

"Well she's my sister so it is my business...Captain Smith can I just point out that Kelly is not even her real daughter?" Rebecca asked.

Jim was shocked, as was Harold. The captain just sighed, "But that isn't the situation at hand here."

"Mr. Lowe, Mr. Moody. Is it true that you've both been having romantic relations with the two Hoffman girls?" Captain Smith asked.

"No, sir." they both answered together.

Rebecca looked nervously at both the officers and then the Captain.

"Well, since there isn't any evidence here, and they all agree this isn't true, then I have no choice but to dismiss this problem. Goodnight Mrs. Hoffman, Miss Hoffman. Jim, you may go back to sleep for another 20 minutes. Harold, get me some tea."

Harold fought the urge to roll his eyes. Rebecca giggled.

"Good night Mr. Lowe, Mr. Moody, Captain Smith," Rebecca said as she walked away with her mother.

"You little liar." Mother hissed.

"At least it saved their necks," Rebecca hissed back.

Mother ignored her, and they both walked back in silence.

When they reached the suite Rebecca walked into her bedroom and went to sleep

--------------------

The next morning Rebecca woke up first, she woke Kelly up and then began to dress for the morning church service.

Kelly got up as well, with a frown on her face.

"We fixed everything last night. Harold and I got Jim and all three of us denied it all. Our secrets are safe for now." Rebecca said, while brushing her own hair.

"So Jim won't lose his job?"

"No, he won't." Rebecca answered.

"Thank God." Kelly said, and sat on her bed. She covered her face with her hands.

"I'm glad you care now, you didn't seem to care last night," Rebecca snapped as she left her hair down but put a clip in it.

"I do care, it's just I have other stuff on my mind right now. so shut up about how you think I don't care about Jim. You don't know about last night." Kelly said.

"What? When Jim and George were fighting over you? I was there, remember. I understand it all perfectly."

"No, you don't! That's not it!" Kelly cried.

"Whatever Kelly, I don't even care right now. I just want to get through this voyage and then I am getting as far away from mother as I can," she said.

Then she got dressed in her church clothes and then waited for Kelly so they could go to the services.

They all walked down the hallway, all silent. They were all pretty much pissed off at each other.

They walked into the room where the service was being held and the family chose a pew.

--------------------

Kelly stood beside Rebecca, about 5 rows back from the front. The Morleys joined them, and George was next to Kelly.

"Good morning, Kelly." he said. He looked like he had a hangover...

Kelly didn't answer him, nor did she look at him.

"My head is killing me." He said, "I don't even remember drinking so much. Actually, I don't even know how I got into bed last night."

Now she looked at him, "You don't remember getting completely drunk?"

He shook his head.

"And you don't remember getting into a fight with Jim?"

"Well, I remember that I argued with him or something, but I didn't hit him, did I?" He asked.

"Oh, yea... you and him were pushing each other and throwing punches. So I bet you don't remember what else you did last night..."

"I told you, I don't remember much from last night. Damn, that's the last time I ever drink... ever."

She picked up the words to the song everyone was singing and she began to sing along,

"_Eternal Father strong to save, whose arm hath bound the restless waves. Who biddest the mighty ocean deep its own appointed limits keep. Oh hear us when we cry to thee, for those in peril on the sea."_

Kelly had a few tears in her eyes, "Last night you did something bad... really bad..."

"Kel, what's wrong?" he asked in a concerned tone.

"You raped me." She whispered.

But he still heard it faintly, "I did what!?" He whispered back sharply.

"_Oh Christ, whose voice the waters hear, and hushed their raging at thy word. Who walked upon the foaming deep and calm amidst it's rage didst sleep. Oh hear us when we cry to thee, for those in peril on the sea."_

"You forced me to sleep with you against my own will."

"No, I couldn't have. I was drunk, but I'm sure I'm not a total monster."

"Yes, you were." Kelly cried, "You were horrible. You got mad when you learned that I had slept with Jim, so I suppose you wanted a piece of me too. You were jealous that Jim got there first, weren't you?"

"Jim was your first?" George asked.

"Yes, but I suppose you don't remember me telling you that little fact."

"_Oh Holy Spirit, who didst brood, upon the chaos dark and rude. And bid its angry tumult cease, and give for wild confusion peace. Oh hear us when we cry to thee, for those in peril on the sea."_

"Great... the night I lose my virginity, it is with a girl who doesn't love me and I don't even remember it."

"Oh, yea, you poor dear." Kelly snapped sarcastically.

"I can't believe I did that. I don't even remember that. Kel, you have to believe me. I would never have done something like that. I am so sorry."

"Apologies won't change what you did." Kelly said.

George say the bruise on her arm. "Did I do that?"

"Yes, while struggling to hold me down." She said, "You really hurt me. Not just emotionally. Believe me, I cried myself to sleep last night. But you weren't gentle with me. You hurt me and when I screamed at you, you just kept going. You didn't slow down. It hurt me a lot."

"I am so sorry." Was all he could think to say.

"It's fine." Kelly lied, "I forgive you..." She really didn't want to forgive him, but in a way it wasn't him last night, He was under the influence of way too much alcohol. She didn't know what to think. "This isn't really the best place to discuss this, anyway."

"_Oh, Trinity of love and power, our family shield in danger's hour. From rock and tempest, fire and foe, protect them wheresoever we go. Thus evermore shall rise to Thee. Glad Hymns of Praise from Land and Sea..."_

---------------

Kelly wandered off from her family and got onto the deck. She saw Jim standing but the railing, looking down at the water below.

Kelly took a deep breath. _It's now or never, I suppose._

She could hear him talking to himself, "She'll likely never talk to me again..."

She snuck up behind him. "Au contraire."

He turned around suddenly, "I really hope that means you don't hate me"

"Oui, mon amour." She said sweetly.

"Please speak English." he said.

"Gladly."

"I didn't know you knew french."

"I don't." She stated, as she came beside him and leaned against the railing "I just picked up a few phrases while in Paris with my family in September."

"Well, you sure do get around..." He said plainly.

"Jim, I came to apologize." Kelly said softly.

"Oh, there's no need to apologize."

"Yes, there is. I was terrible. I pushed you away, and I hurt you. I ruined the best thing that has ever happened to me." She said. He smiled at her, "I only tried to stop the relationship before it got too serious because I was afraid I'd only hurt you in the end. I got engaged to George, and-"

"I heard." He said.

"And there was also the fact that my mother would kill me for falling in love with an officer. And you could very well have lost your job over this. I thought if I stopped this before we both fell too hard for each other, then it might hurt less. But all I could think of was you, and all I really wanted was you. I've realized after all of this that I can't just throw away what we had. I've realized," She hesitated for a moment, "that I love you."

"Last night you seemed so angry at me. I thought you'd likely never speak to me again. I thought you'd go back to your old life, and marry George and not even for a second would you think of me."

"I don't want George and I don't want that life! Screw him. Who the hell cares. He says he loves me, but deep down I'm not sure he really does. I think he only wanted my body. He got what he wanted."

"He got what he wanted?" Jim asked, "You slept with him!?"

"No!" Kelly answered, "Well, yes... but not intentionally."

"Then how... " he thought for a moment, "He forced you to?"

Kelly nodded slightly, trying to hold some tears back.

"I'll kill him! I swear I'll murder that little prick!" Jim was pissed now.

"No, don't do anything to him! He was drunk and didn't know what he was doing. He hardly remembers a thing from last night. And he apologized. I just want to forget it."

Jim pulled Kelly into an embrace, "I'm so sorry, sweetie. I'm sorry that happened to you. If I had been there, I would have murdered that bastard. You didn't deserve that."

"It's fine. I'll be okay." Kelly replied.

"I'm also sorry that I got into a fight with him last night. Of course, I don't regret punching him in the face, but I do regret that I hurt you. And also, when I said it wasn't about you, I lied. It was all about you. I was fighting for you."

"You didn't have to fight over me, because you already had me. And you still do have me." She rested her head on his shoulder.

He stroked her hair gently. "Last night your mother was up by the bridge. Rebecca and Harold woke me up and the three of us confronted her and the captain. We denied it all. But now, I wish I had just said 'You know what, Captain, I love that woman and I'll risk anything for her. And Mrs. Hoffman, you may go to Hell for all I care because you are an evil heartless bitch'. And then I'd make quit a dramatic exit, storming out of the room and slamming every door on the ship over and over again."

"Sounds like you would have thrown a fit. And all just for stupid little me." Kelly said.

"Yep, all just for beautiful, amazing, funny, intelligent you." He said. He kissed the top of her head.

She leaned against the railing, he back to the ocean. He was in front of her, his arms gripping the railing on either side of her. He leaned forward and kissed her. Then he put his forehead to hers. "We can make this work. We will, I promise." He said.

"And I trust your word." She replied, and they went back to kissing. Nearly thirsty with the need for each other's lips. Trying to hold back the urge to go farther, because they were in public.

She pulled back for a second to say something, "Aren't you-" but he pulled her back for another quick kiss, "working right now?"

He kissed her again, "I was just getting off from my shift."

Her arms were around his neck, "Then, how about we become reacquainted again?" She suggested, a bit seductively.

"What did you have in mind?" He asked.

"Oh, I don't know... some talking... some more kissing..." She grabbed onto his shirt collar and pulled him an inch closer, "maybe something else."

They quickly kissed one more time, and then they snuck down into the peaceful halls of first class. Kelly opened the door to the Hoffman's room.

They went inside, and Kelly shut the door quickly, nobody else was there. Jim pushed Kelly against the wall, taking her by surprise and he kissed her.

"We're all alone right now." She whispered to him.

"Good." He said, and they kissed, not letting go as they made their way to the bedroom.

They fell onto her bed and laid there for a few moments, looking into each other's eyes.

"I don't ever want to leave you." he said sweetly.

"You don't have to." She said back, and kissed him on the cheek.

He came on top of her and started kissing her passionately.

--------------------

Rebecca was walking back to her room, thinking, _We are very lucky to have not gotten in trouble last night. Harold and Jim get to keep their jobs. Everyone is happy... except for Mother. Although, Kelly doesn't seem to happy lately, of course. She said she has other problems to deal with, and other things on her mind. If it's not about Jim, then what is it?_

She entered the Hoffman's room, and then opened the door to her bedroom. There was a giant lump in Kelly's bed under the covers, _She must be asleep... or crying again..._

"Kelly?" Rebecca said,

The lump under the sheets moved. Kelly pulled the blankets off of her head. "Oh... Rebecca... fancy seeing you here." She laughed nervously.

The blankets moved a bit more, "Stop..." Kelly whispered sharply at it.

"Kelly? What's going on?" Rebecca asked.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Kelly giggled nervously again.

"You are lying to me. Now I want to know, why are you acting so funny!"

Jim's head emerged from under the blankets as well. "Hello Rebecca." he said, trying to act normal, "How are you?"

"Oh, gosh..." Rebecca said, "I'll just go... somewhere... I need to be someplace... which isn't here... witnessing my little sister in bed with a man..."

"Rebecca, it's not what it looks like!" Kelly said, but then thought for a second, "Okay, perhaps it's exactly what it looks like..."

"Ok, I am uh...glad to see that you two are happy and back together...uh it's just that why would you be fooling around in here when mother could walk in at any moment?" Rebecca asked as she shielded her eyes.

"Oh, she's out with those other old broads. And even if she did walk in, I wouldn't care. I love him, and she can't stop that."

"Ok then...uh Jim is Harold working right now?" Rebecca asked.

"Actually, yes, I think he is." Jim answered.

"When does his shift end?" Rebecca asked.

"In about 3 hours..." Jim answered, He then turned to Kelly, "So... who was better? Me or George?"

"Uh... Jim... I don't think now is the time to answer that. It's over, let's pretend that it didn't happen." Kelly elbowed him in the arm, then she looked up at Rebecca, hoping she hadn't heard that.

Rebecca was about to leave when she looked back at her sister and Jim. "Wait...what?! What the hell are you talking about?" she asked.

"Something happened last night... with George..." Kelly said.

Rebecca raised an eyebrow..."Like what? By all means, please elaborate for me," Rebecca said.

"He forced me to sleep with him! Okay?" Kelly cried. "Happy now? That is why I was upset last night, and this morning. He was so drunk last night." Kelly took a deep breath. Jim put his arm around her, "Alcohol and George do not mix well."

Rebecca was speechless..."Oh my gosh! Kelly! I'm so sorry!" she cried after a few moments.

"It's fine. I'll be okay. He apologized. he hardly remembers a thing about it. I don't care about it much anymore. I've got Jim back and everything will be fine... it has to be."

Rebecca nodded. "Alright, well I am just going to go and...read. You two just snuggle or whatever it was that you were doing...I will just go now," Rebecca said. She grabbed her book and went out of the room and up to the deck.

Kelly and Jim both got dressed quickly. "I seem to see a pattern here. Everybody keeps walking in on us, every time we do something." Jim said.

"Well, Harold and Rebecca are okay. They'll keep our secret." Kelly replied.

Jim kissed her cheek, "I'm glad we're back together."

"Me too." Kelly answered, "Now you'd better go. Before we get caught again."

He left, and Kelly sat on her bed, smiling.

Rebecca sat on the promenade reading, soon she returned to her room. She was quite relieved when she found out that Jim had gone. She was not prepared to see that again...not ever. Then she dressed for lunch, she and Kelly and her parents went to the lunch hall and they all sat and ate lunch.

Kelly sat next to George, and she didn't say a word.

"Kelly?" he said. "Kel, please speak to me."

Rebecca was even angrier now than she had ever been when she saw George. She took a polite sip of her water and stared at her future brother in law with hate.

"Good afternoon, George," Kelly said plainly.

George turned away from her and took a sip of water.

Rebecca ordered her lunch and tried not to think about how the man sitting across from her had hurt her sister and taken what was left of her dignity.

Kelly sat in her seat, smiling, _Jim and I are back together! This is perfect! But, I guess I'll have to find someway to break it off with George. Oh well. He's a smart man, he'll find another girl. _

Rebecca ate and thought about everything that had happened between her and Harold the night before. She loved Harold more than anything in the world and it was wonderful., he loved her in return and she would run away from her family if she had to...just to be with Harold.

Mother was sitting on the other side of Kelly, "Kelly, dear, you and George need to act like a couple."

"A couple of what?" Kelly asked sarcastically.

"Hold his hand, talk to him, do something." Mother hissed.

Kelly sighed, and leaned to George, "Mother is telling me to talk to you, so I am."

"Why don't you want to talk to me? I said I was sorry." George said.

"I know you are sorry. it's just very awkward talking to you, after what happened last night." Kelly whispered back.

"It's not awkward. I think we should just forget it all. Pretend nothing happened." He suggested.

"Fine. We'll forget about how you raped me." Kelly said coldly.

"How many times must I say it, I'm sorry!" George yelled. Then he looked around at all the people at the table staring at him.

"You just, forget about it, and I'll sit here and worry about everything. I'll worry about the consequences of your drunken actions." Kelly whispered back sharply.

"What? Are you pregnant or something?" He asked worriedly.

"Not that I know of. I wouldn't know, since it was only last night. But don't worry. I doubt I am."

"How can you be sure?"

"I can't be sure, so just shut your mouth and leave it be. I'm fine, you're fine. Just drop it." Kelly said, and went back to eating.

Rebecca had been pulled from her thoughts at George's shouting. She watched as Kelly spoke something to him and then began to eat. She shook her head with a sigh and continued to eat.

After lunch, Kelly got up and tried to walk off. "Hold on, Kelly." Mother said. " I know what happened last night."

"You know about it?" Kelly asked.

"Yes, and I am deeply disappointed in you."

"Me? I didn't do anything wrong." She replied.

"You thought it would be fun and you'd never get caught. You just wanted to have a wild and crazy time." Mother stated.

"What are you talking about? I tried to fight him off, but he kept forcing himself on me, Mother. He's the one to blame." Kelly replied sadly.

"What are you rambling on about? All I was talking about if that you were down in third class last night."

"Oh..." Kelly said

"What were you talking about?"

"Mother, I know this might come off as a shock, but last night George forced himself on me. He raped me." She said, looking down at the floor.

"He did that?" Mother yelled, Kelly nodded, "You are not to tell this to anybody. You are not going to make a big deal of it. You'll forget it ever happened. is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am." Kelly said, and stood there as her mother just walked off.

--------------------

**Once again, thank you for reading. I know a lot of you kind of want George... well, dead. lol. I suppose he's not too popular anymore. Hehehe... But don't hate him too much. He was drunk... I (Kelly) seem to be the only one who doesn't hate him so much. lol. It is the afternoon of April 14th, 1912. You know what's coming up soon. lol. But if you don't know, then have you been living under a rock all your life? lol. Anyway, please review. Thank you! Chapter 12 will be out soon.**


	12. Loyalty

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

_**Chapter 12**_

After lunch Rebecca went to her room and sat down on her bed. she was thinking about everything that had happened within the last twenty four hours.

Kelly walked in after her and sat down on her own bed, smiling. "Hello, Rebecca." She was still smiling.

Rebecca eyed her sister. "What's with the smile?" she asked.

"What do you think?" Kelly replied.

Rebecca thought for a moment and then cringed. "Please, it was hard enough walking in on you two...do you have to remind me?!" Rebecca asked.

"Well, you should have knocked first." Kelly smirked.

"Well it is our room. Not Jim and Kelly's room," Rebecca said.

"You walked in, and you could have just pretended not to notice Jim was in bed with me." Kelly said, "You didn't have to ask me questions about what was going on. You asked, and you got your answer."

"Still...if you two get up to that again...do me a favor and don't do it in our room!" Rebecca said as she tossed a pillow at Kelly's head.

"Fine. Anything for dearest virgin Rebecca." Kelly said sarcastically and laughed.

Rebecca looked down..."Yea about that..." Rebecca started.

"Let me guess. You slept with Harold. That is why you were late coming in last night, and that's why Mother went insane."

Rebecca looked startled. "Oh, I can't hide it from you. Yes, we slept together," she said.

"And how was it?" Kelly asked, "I want all the details."

"Why on earth would I tell you about my first time?" Rebecca asked.

"We can compare. Come on, we're both women now. We might as well discuss these sort of things."

"Well, you never told me about your first time."

"You never asked me." Kelly stated, "Here, I'll tell you every little detail. First-"

"No! That's, uh... alright. I don't need to know how my little sister lost her virginity," Rebecca cut Kelly off.

Kelly smiled, "Fine then. But you must stop treating me like a child. I'm not a baby. And you'll just have to accept that I'm a woman now. A woman who can make her own choices."

"Yes...alright..." Rebecca said slowly.

"So, from now on shall I just leave a sign on the door that says 'Do Not Disturb'?" Kelly asked.

Rebecca looked disgusted at her sister, "What, do you plan on having him in here every night?" she asked.

"I don't know. Perhaps, if he feels up to it."

"Okay, you have just gotten this conversation ended. I need to go uh..." Rebecca tried to think up a reason to leave, but nothing came.

"Sleep with Harold?" Kelly asked.

Rebecca's jaw dropped, "That is none of your business," she replied.

"Well, it was none of your business about what Jim and I did alone, but you walked in anyway."

"Kelly, I did not plan on walking in on you two! I just didn't expect him to be in my sister's bed!" Rebecca cried.

"Fine. Just knock from now on."

"I shouldn't have to knock on my own bedroom door," Rebecca said.

"Well, if you're not going to knock, then you might as well come on in. You and Harold could join us." Kelly said sarcastically. and she laughed.

"Must you be so sick and vulgar? Who raised you this way?" Rebecca asked, disgusted.

"I raised myself this way. Years of rebelling against Mother and Father, and years of learning the ways of the world all by myself. I've pretty much taught myself all I know. And certainly I do not have any use for anything Mother tried to teach me. I cannot sew, and I outright refuse to keep two lives, one that's public and one that's not. If people want to know me, they know all of me."

"Alright... I think I'm just going to go up to the deck or something. I'll see you later," Rebecca said. Then she stood up off of the bed and left the room.

--------------------

Jim leaned against a wall on the bridge, smiling uncontrollably. Harold came up beside him, also leaning against the wall.

"Well, you seem to be in a good mood." Harold observed.

"Yes... yes, I am." Jim nodded in agreement.

"And what is the reason for that?" Harold ask, also with a smile on his face. He was happy that his friend was finally happy.

"Kelly came to me, and apologized. I told her she didn't have to, but she insisted on apologizing. And, boy, did she apologize." He explained, still smiling.

Harold understood what he'd meant, "Yes, that certainly explains the smile."

Jim answered, "But there are still a few obstacles to face."

"Like her parents, and the Captain, and that George fellow..." he listed the people who could stand in their way.

Jim's smile fell into an angry scowl, "Do you know what George did to her?"

"No, what did he do to her?" Harold asked, confused.

"He raped her." Jim whispered sharply, seeming quite angry.

"Are you serious?" Harold said in disbelief, and looked at him incredulously.

"Yes, and I swear I'll take that little bugger by the neck and kick his ass."

Harold smirked, "I'd likely do the same thing if I were in your shoes."

"Glad to know somebody backs me up."

Changing the subject, Harold said, "Have you heard of the ice warnings we've been receiving?"

"Yes," he replied, "Do you think it's anything to worry about?"

"No, probably not much to worry about, I'd assume."

"Yea, they'll likely just have to slow down the ship and put a few extra lookouts on duty."

"It also might help if those lookouts had binoculars. But somebody seems to have lost them. They haven't been seen since we left Southampton. I think David Blair had them but then when he left, and Lightoller became 2nd officer, he never told him where they were."

"Oh, we'll be perfectly fine. On this big 'unsinkable' hunk of metal." As Jim said the word 'unsinkable', he laughed to himself. He knew it was impossible to build an unsinkable ship. It was ridiculous for the press to even have published such a thought.

---------------

Kelly was laying in her bed, and she heard a knock at the front door. Then she heard her mother's voice, "Oh, George. Please do come in."

Then she heard a knock on her own door. "Kelly?" Her mother's voice said. Kelly could tell her supposed 'mother' was just putting on an act for everyone, trying to act like a sweet, warm, loving mother... "You have a visitor." Her mother stated.

Kelly didn't answer. So Mother opened the door anyway, "Kelly, George is here to see you."

"Hello, George." Kelly said softly as he walked into the room.

Mother wore a fake smile, "I'll just leave you two alone." She said and closed the door.

"Kelly, we need to talk." He spoke forcefully.

"No, we don't." She answered angrily.

"I think we have some important things to discuss."

"Well, I think you should just leave." Kelly turned away from him and crossed her arms.

"Look at me when I'm trying to speak to you!" George roared aggressively, while he grabbed her shoulder and spun her back around to face him. "You are mine and nobody else's. I refuse to share you with some scraggly officer. You will not do this to me." He then leaned in towards her. So close, she could feel his hot breath on her skin, "Your loyalty lies with me." He hissed.

"My loyalty lies with another." She said back.

"I saw him leaving your room today, before lunch. I could only imagine what you two were doing."

"And while you imagined me lying naked in bed with another man, I can assume that your head wasn't the only thing that was hard." She said sarcastically.

"I don't understand..." He said.

"I didn't expect a man of your high intelligence to." She laughed.

He then grabbed her by the hair and turned her around quickly. He held her close to him. With her back against his chest. She could feel the anger in him, that seemed to be flowing along with every drop of blood in his veins.

"George," She cried, "This isn't like you. It really isn't in your nature to yell, and to be at all violent. Why are you like this now?"

He tightened his grip on her hair, and also he had his arm across her arms and chest, holding her to him. "Because I will not allow my fiancee to be cheating on me with some officer and acting like some common whore!"

"I am not acting like a whore!" she objected.

"I asked my father about what to do in this situation of trying to control my unruly fiancee... he told me to be a man. To see what I want and go for it. To have the upper hand in the relationship. I know what I want, and I'm not afraid to be forceful if it means taming you and making you into a lady. The fact stands that you will be my wife, and I will be your husband and you must honor me."

"You have gone mad." Kelly said, "You are impertinent, sick, a terrible excuse for a man and I will never be your wife!"

He pulled on her hair tightly again. "I don't think you are being given a choice on the matter."

"Please, just let go of me. You are hurting me." She pleaded.

"Good!" He shouted. "Now I can cause you the pain you tried to cause me when you slept with another man."

"George!" She screamed, "I don't love you, and I never will!"

"Oh, well, if that's the case..." He said, "I'll make you love me." He let go of her and pushed her onto the bed.

"No, don't you dare touch me. I won't let you do that again." Kelly warned.

"Last night I was too drunk to even remember it. Now I want to know what it was like." He said in a sickening way as he tried to push her down on the bed. "You are mine now, and only mine. Your affair with that officer will have to stop. He couldn't possibly love you the way I do."

"No!" She shouted and tried to push him back.

He succeeded in pushing her onto her back. He tried to climb on top of her, but she used her foot and pushed him back.

"Ouch," He said when he was struck by her high heeled shoe. "That was naughty, Kelly. Very naughty. You'll pay for that. And-"

She sat up and slapped him as he spoke. He raised his hand to his cheek. Kelly took this opportunity to get off the bed and run. But he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him. She snapped back like if she was made of an rubber band. She fell back, but not onto the bed. Her head hit the bed post. "Ugh..." She groaned as she touched the back of her head and stood up.

"Kelly..." He said, trying to be a bit sympathetic.

"Get out!"

"I don't have to." He grabbed her wrist again, this time a bit more gently.

She pulled it away, "Just go!" She screamed. She turned around and put her hand to her mouth to suppress a sudden sob.

He came up behind her and grabbed onto her head. He forcefully turned it towards himself and pressed his lips to hers. He slipped his other hand around her waist.

She fought against his grasp, but couldn't seem to get away.

Rebecca entered the room at that moment, her eyes were wide open with surprise.

She could see Kelly trying to escape the strong grip he had on her.

"George!" Rebecca yelled, "What do you think you are doing!? Let go of my sister!"

He immediately moved his head to look at Rebecca.

Kelly was breathing heavily and looked very frightened. "Help." Kelly tried to say, but her voice was only a broken whisper.

George let go of her and went for the door. As he left, Rebecca gave him a cold look.

Kelly sat on the bed, breaking down in sobs, like she had a few times during the voyage.

"Kel, he didn't hurt you, did he?" Rebecca asked, sitting down next to her.

In reply, she only cried. She put her head on Rebecca's shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Rebecca asked. Kelly shook her head. "How about we dry your tears and go find Jim? Would you talk to him?"

"No." She cried, "Then Jim will get really mad and hurt George. And then George will get mad and hurt me."

"You're really afraid of George, aren't you?"

"Yes. Only when he is angry like this. He has changed! He's not a violent person. I'm not sure if he's drunk again, or just extremely angry at what I did with Jim again. Jealousy may be getting the best of him."

"It's all going to be fine, Kel. I swear to you, it will be." Rebecca said reassuringly. She let Kelly cry on her shoulder. And she put her own hand on Kelly's back to comfort her. Her arm hit the back of Kelly's head.

"Ow." Kelly hissed.

"Oh my goodness... Kelly, let me see the back of your head."

Kelly leaned her head towards Rebecca, and let her examine it.

"It doesn't hurt too much." Kelly lied.

"Oh, my. You've got quite a bump there. How did this happen?

"George tried to... um... you know... do something to me. So when I got up and tried to leave, he grabbed my wrist and I fell backward and hit my head. That's all."

"That bastard. I can't believe he would even try to do that again. He hurt you."

"It's fine, Rebecca. It's all okay." Kelly lied.

"No, it's not."

"I can handle my own life." She stated, "I don't need your help or anybody else's help. I'm going to find my own way out of this mess of a life and I'll do it all on my own."

--------------------

Mother sat on the couch in the next room. She had just been off having some tea with a few other women.

Kelly was lying down, and Rebecca went to see her mother. "Mother, you must call off this wedding."

"Rebecca, I know you don't want to marry Michael, but I won't tolerate this rebellion."

"No, I'm not talking about my wedding. I'm talking about Kelly's. She's too young for this. And also, George is horrible."

"Whatever do you mean? He is a wonderful young man." Mother stated, pretending not to know about what Rebecca was talking about.

"He has quite a terrible temper. He isn't right for Kelly. You know that."

"I don't really care whether he is right for her or not. She expendable. So I don't care if she's unhappy. As long as this marriage works out well for our family."

"How could you say that? She's a person like you and I. She has feelings too. And you are just going to sacrifice her happiness just for yourself? That is just sickening."

"No, that is just the way the world works." Mother replied.

"Well, the world has to change." Rebecca stated.

"No, you and Kelly both have to change to fit in to this world. I don't know what is wrong with you. You were never like this before. You were always a good girl, like I was when I was your age. You remind me a bit of myself. Wanting to be who I wanted to be, but always following the rules anyway. I never did the things you've done lately, so I suppose that is where we differ."

"But I will never be a mother like you. I will never treat my children the way you treat Kelly and I."

"Kelly, however, isn't much like me at all. Inside her, I see your father's spirit. He was a bit stubborn and always thought he could do everything himself. He didn't think he needed help from anybody. Kelly is a real spitfire, just like he was. Although, your father has quieted down a bit in his past few years, he really was quite a passionate man." Mother explained, "He was around 30 years old back when I married him. And I was only 17, like Kelly is now. I wasn't thrilled about getting married to him, since I didn't know him and I didn't love him at first. Actually, to tell the truth, I've never exactly fallen for him. But I'm still glad I married him. I got security, and he had enough money to give me everything I wanted. And the same thing will happen to you. You are my daughter after all, and you are bound to follow in my footsteps. You'll thank me someday."

Rebecca sat there quietly for a moment, "I'd better go get ready for dinner." She said softly, and stood up. She entered her room and shut the door behind her softly.

"Kelly, after dinner you should go see Jim." Rebecca said.

Kelly smiled. "And what should I do once I am with him?"

"Well, hopefully not what you're thinking about right now. And I know that's what you are thinking of."

"Now whatever do you mean?" Kelly said, pretending not to know.

Rebecca just sighed, "Just don't do anything you'll regret."

Kelly smirked, "I think that's already been done."

"Be careful, please. I am so tired of always having to watch out for you and take care of you."

"You never had to take care of me."

"Yes, I had to watch out for you all the time, since you were always getting yourself into some sort of trouble. If it weren't for me, you likely wouldn't be here. You would have been torn apart by our mother. You can be so stubborn sometimes. You except sympathy, and make people feel so bad for you, but then you refuse to let people help you. You lie and say you can do just fine on your own. But in reality, you can't. You can not survive on your own."

"Well, thank you so much for telling me how horrible I am."

"I'm not saying you are a horrible person. I am saying you are just extremely immature and stubborn."

"And that's surely not a compliment." Kelly said.

"Listen to me. We're sisters, and we need to stick together, or we'll never end up happy. I don't really mind much being there for you, as long as in return you are there for me. We're a team."

Kelly sighed, "I suppose you are right."

Rebecca hugged her sister. "Now we have dinner to get to," Rebecca said.

"Oh, wonderful. Of course, Mother will force me to sit next to George..." Kelly said sadly.

"Lets just get this voyage over and done with, in a few more days we the ship will dock in New York and then we can get you far away from George Morley," Rebecca said.

"Thank you." Kelly said. "You've always been a great older sister."

Rebecca smiled, "No problem," she replied.

Their maids, Annie and Isabella, came in and helped get them ready for dinner. Kelly got dressed in a maroon dress, and Annie put her hair up neatly.

Rebecca dressed in a black dress and then Isabella put her hair up into a tight bun and put a clip in it. She put some rouge on and then the sisters went out to the sitting room where mother and father were. "Come girls," mother said a bit coldly.

"I don't think Mother is too happy with us at the moment..." Rebecca whispered to Kelly as they walked out of the room.

"You think?" Kelly said back sarcastically.

Rebecca looked at her sister, raised an eyebrow and then burst out laughing.

Mother looked back at her coldly, but then turned to face forward again

They kept walking and soon they reached the Grand Staircase. The Morleys were coming down the stairs at the same moment. "Oh, hello Elizabeth." Mother said to Mrs. Morley. Father also greeted Mr. Morley. Kelly and Rebecca stood next to each other, as George stared at them.

Kelly looked down at her feet. Rebecca grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, "It will all be fine, Kel." She whispered softly.

George finally stopped just staring and walked over next to them, "Good evening, Kelly" he said, acting as if nothing had happened earlier.

"Leave me alone, scum." Kelly whispered sharply back at him.

"Now that's not how you should speak to your fiancee." George replied, "You should treat me with respect."

"What happened to you?" She asked, "You've changed drastically. You've changed for the worst."

"I'm only trying to make sure this relationship works out well, for the both of us." He grabbed her arm and pulled her away gently. He pulled her away from Rebecca.

When they were a few feet away from the others, he put his hands tightly on her shoulders and looked her right in the eye, "Look, I am deeply sorry about how I hurt you earlier, and I am sorry about what happened last night. But you are betraying me. You are engaged to me, not some officer. I'm only trying to ensure our future together. There really isn't any other choice."  
Kelly stood there sadly, and looked down at her feet.

"Look at me." He snapped angrily.  
She looked up at him.  
"Now, am I right?" He asked.  
"Yes." She replied and nodded with tears in her eyes.  
"Good." He said and smiled fakely. "Now let's get in there and act like everything is perfectly fine." He held out his arm and Kelly was hesitant. He looked at her in a way that made her feel a bit threatened. So she linked arms with him and they walked to join the others.

Rebecca sighed as she walked in the dining saloon behind her sister. She just shook her head and then walked to a seat at their usual table beside Kelly.

They sat at the table. In their normal order. Kelly was inbetween George and Rebecca. And next to Rebecca sat Mother and Father. Next to george sat his two parents.

"What was he talking to you about?" Rebecca whispered to Kelly.

"Nothing. It was nothing..." Kelly answered, looking down at her plate.

Rebecca took a sip of water and then placed an order for her dinner.

Kelly sat still, and ate her food when it came. She could feel George's arm brush against hers sometimes. He even put his hand on her knee at one point. She tried to move it, but he grabbed her hand tightly under the table. She gave up at that moment.

Rebecca also ate her food in silence, she really wished she could go see Harold right now. But she was staying away incase mother followed and got the captain and then they would not be able to lie their way out.

"So, when is the wedding going to be?" A woman across the table asked Mrs. Hoffman.

"Rebecca's wedding is in two weeks, and Kelly and George's wedding date is yet to be set." Mother explained.

Rebecca resisted the urge to roll her eyes and remained silent while she ate.

"Congratulations, Rebecca." The woman said, "I'm sure you can't wait for your wedding. But don't worry, the next two weeks will just fly by." Rebecca just nodded and smiled, a fake smile. Then the woman turned to Kelly and George, "And you two must be excited as well. You look like a wonderful couple. I'm sure that you'll have beautiful children together."

"Thank you." George said kindly, "Kelly and I are excited for our upcoming wedding. Right sweetie?" He turned to Kelly.

"Mhm..." She mumbled and still didn't look at anybody.

"She hasn't been feeling well today," George explained.

Rebecca looked at him coldly and disgustedly. "I wonder why," Rebecca hissed.

They all finished eating. Kelly only ate about half her food.

When Rebecca finished eating she sighed as she saw the fact that George was holding a tight grip on Kelly and Rebecca had no hope of being able to get back to her room with her sister. So she left for the suite, feeling quite tired from the previous night and having about two hours of sleep and so when she got back to her room she changed into her nightgown and went to bed.

--------------------

George pulled Kelly aside again. "Could you at least pretend to be happy over this engagement?"

"No. I can't even pretend. This isn't right, and you know it!" She yelled.

"Shut up," He hissed, "Before you make a scene."

"I'll make a scene if I want to." She said angrily. "I can think for myself, do for myself, and care for myself. I can get along fine without anyone. I don't need anyone. Especially you."

"Well, we're still engaged and there is no way to change that. You'll learn to love me someday. Or you can just pretend." He said as he leaned in towards her and walked away.

"Wait! George!" She yelled and followed him.

He stopped walking and faced her. "I'm going to the smoking room. You can't follow me. it's not a woman's place." He explained.

"You are going to the smoking room? To do what? Smoke?"

"Maybe I will. And I'll drink too. As much as I want to."

"And after you drink, you'll be an obnoxious jackass like last night." She replied.

George started walking again and Kelly followed still. "I'll do what I want, I'm the man in this relationship." They reached the smoking room.

"Oh yes, and what a man you are." Kelly said sarcastically. "You were such a gentleman last night in my bed when you raped me!"

"Shut up!" George yelled and looked around. Some people were staring at him. "Just shut up, now." Then he laughed nervously and said to everyone else, "She has quite an active imagination. She was only kidding. Haha..." Then he leaned to Kelly again and whispered, "That wasn't funny."

"But this is," She said and brought her knee up to his groin.

"Ugh... what the hell was that for..." He said in pain.

"For everything." She replied and smiled, satisfied with what she'd done.

"You can't be here." He hissed, "Now I suggest you go to your room, get into your little nightgown and go to sleep."

"Fine, I'll go. But I can't promise I'll be sleeping in my own bed tonight." She smiled again and walked off.

"If you go to see him again I swear I'll..." he let his sentence end there, since he knew Kelly was already out the door.

Caledon Hockley came up behind him, "Lover's quarrel?" He asked.

"Yes," George replied.

"What's the problem?" Cal asked.

"My new fiancee hates me and doesn't want to marry me. She got this rambunctious, untamed, fiery spirit that I have tried unsuccessfully to control, and also she is in love with another man." George explained.

"That sounds familiar to me..." Cal stated, thinking of his own problems with Rose. "I think I can help you with your fiancee, if you'll help me with mine..."

"Deal." George said and they both shook hands. They began to discuss what to do about their relationship problems.

-------------------

Kelly walked onto the deck, looking around for Jim. Suddenly she felt someone wrap their arms around her from behind her. It was Jim. He kissed her on the cheek, but didn't let go of her. "Hello sweetheart." He said sweetly.

"Hello." She said, trying to smile.

"Hey, honey, what's wrong?" Jim asked.

"Nothing." She shook her head slightly, "It's nothing. It's just stupid stuff."

"If something is making you upset it isn't stupid. if anyone hurt you I will go kill them, you hear me?"

"Yes. But really, it's fine. It's just damn George. He's being obnoxious."

"Where is he? I'll go make him pay for whatever he's done this time."

"No, it's fine. I can handle it. It's just that I don't know how to break off this engagement." Kelly explained.

"Um... 'George, I can't marry you.' should be enough." Jim stated.

Kelly giggled. "Okay, it's more like I'm afraid to."

"Then I'll help you." He said.

"You can't do this for me." Kelly replied.

"Sure I can. I'll tell him to stay away from you or I'll punch him in his ugly face."

"You're always looking out for me..." Kelly smiled.

"Of course." He smiled back, "But you know... you can't marry George if you are engaged to somebody else..."

"Yea, but then I'd be engaged to two people." Kelly replied.

"I see he hasn't given you a ring yet." Jim observed.

"No, but-" Kelly started to speak but then Jim pulled a ring out of his pocket. "Where'd you get that?"

"I've had it. Just waiting for the right girl to catch my attention and maybe take my breath away."

"Oh... wow... It's beautiful..."

"Kelly Ann Hoffman," He said softly, "Would you do me the honor of making me the happiest man alive and becoming my wife?"

"Yes!" She yelled happily and threw her arms around his neck. She kissed him on the cheek.

He slipped the ring onto her finger. Then he leaned forward and kissed her.

"It's beautiful." She said while admiring it.

"Just like the lady wearing it." Jim stated.

"I love you." She said while looking right into his eyes.

"I love you too."

"No, I mean I really love you. I can't even put it into words. I love you more than words could say"

"Then don't say anything. Just kiss me." Jim said.

"Easy enough." She replied and they went back to kissing right out in the open on the deck. "We could get caught here." Kelly stated.

"We could get caught anywhere on this ship." Jim smiled again, "Come on." He grabbed her hand.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

They went to a room that was located behind the room with wheel of the ship. There was nobody in there. "Right here on the bridge? Honestly, Jim, anyone could walk in and-"

He cut her off with a kiss. "I like a little risk." They went back to kissing. He had her pressed against the wall. "You are so beautiful."

"Ooh, Mr. Moody. What a romantic you are..." Kelly said.

"Oh, Mrs. Moody. I'm only this way because of you. When I am around you I can't help but be romantic."

He ran his hands through her hair, and down her back. She kept her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. They kept kissing for a few minutes, and pulled away for a moment. "Please tell me you're never going to leave me." Kelly said while staring into his eyes.

"I'll never leave you. I'd never even think of leaving you."

She giggled happily and they went back to kissing.

The phone began to ring in the other room. They ignored it for a moment. It rang again. They pulled apart. "You'd better get that." Kelly said softly.

"Oh, it's likely not too important." He leaned in to kiss her, but then the phone rang again. "Damn it." He muttered under his breathe and sighed, "Hold on a second." He picked up his tea cup and carried it out of the room with him to answer the phone.

Kelly stayed leaning against the wall and smiled.

"Yes, what do you see?" She heard Jim say to the lookout on the other end of the phone line.

_The lookouts see something? I hope it's not too serious... _She thought.

"Thank you." Jim said.

_Well, he said that calmly. I suppose everything's fine. _

"Iceberg, right ahead!" He yelled.

"What?" Kelly said to herself, surprised. She walked out of the room and stood next to eh phone, behind Quartermaster Hichens who was at the wheel.

Jim ran to the door, and met Officer Murdoch, they both yelled to Mr. Hichens "Hard to starboard!"

Hichens begins turned the wheel faster and faster.

Officer Murdoch ran past Jim, causing him to spill his tea. But that seemed rather unimportant at the moment.

"Jim, what's going on?" Kelly asked worriedly.

He ignored her question, "Turn, turn, turn." He yelled to Hichens.

Hichens turned the wheel until it wouldn't go any further, "Hard over." He yelled.

"It's hard over, sir." Jim yelled to Murdoch, who was just standing and staring out towards the water.

Kelly's mouth fell open as she saw the iceberg. "Oh my god..." She said softly.

"Is it hard over?" Murdoch yelled back.

"It is, yes, sir, hard over!" Jim replied.

Everyone stood still, watching what would happen.

"Jim, what if we don't turn in time?" Kelly asked.

Once again, Jim ignored the question, or just didn't hear it.

The iceberg came closer and closer. The ship began to turn finally. It looked like it was just about to miss the iceberg. Kelly didn't breathe for the next for seconds. Then she felt a rumbling underneath her feet.

"Hard to port!" Murdoch yelled.

Jim repeated this to Hichens.

Murdoch ran over to the switch to close the watertight doors below.

Jim moved beside Kelly and grabbed her hand. "Jim, what happened?" She asked softly.

"I don't know..." he whispered back, "I honestly don't know."

"Note the time," Murdoch said, "Enter it in the log."

Captain Smith walked in, "What was that, Mr. Murdoch?"

"An iceberg, sir." Murdoch answered, "I pulled her hard to starboard and I pulled the engines hard to stern. I tried to port-around it, but she hit and I-"

"Close the water tight doors."

"Doors are closed, sir." Murdoch replied again.

Murdoch and Smith left to go inspect the damage.

"Jim, do you think we've damaged the ship badly?" Kelly asked.

Jim shook his head slightly, "No... we'll be fine. Nothing to worry about." He lied. Because in his heart he knew that this wasn't good.

The captain came back to the room. He saw Kelly and Jim holding hands, "What's all this about?"

Jim let go of her hand, "Sir, she was just frightened by the collision so she came up here where I was comforting her." He lied.

Hichens muttered under his breath, "Yes, you really were 'comforting' her in the back room..."

"What was that Mr. Hichens?" Captain Smith asked.

"Nothing." He answered.

"I don't have the time to deal with this now. I have to go figure out what's happened to my ship." Then he walked off.

Jim slapped Hichens on the back of the head.

"Kelly was worried, "Everything is fine, right?" She asked again.

"Yes, honey, it's all going to be fine. Don't you worry." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head lightly. He tried to make her feel reassured that they'll all be safe. He knew the ship was supposedly unsinkable, but now he wasn't sure if that would be proved true or not.

--------------------

**And there we go with the iceberg and everything. Great... The beginning of the sinking. Of course, now most of you (or most like, all of you) think George is a total dick. And now Kelly is engaged... twice! Anyway, thanks for reading this chapter. PLease review. We really love reviews! Chapter 13 will be out soon. Sorry we took so long with this chapter. Things got kinda busy, at least for me (Kelly). I got a job... got fired froma job... and other crap... anyway... enough about me. Thanks so much for reading. We will update really soon.**


	13. Scum

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

_**Chapter 13**_

Kelly and Jim sat on a set of stairs that led up to the bridge. She had her head resting on his shoulder. "Is that something that happens usually?" she asked.

"No." He answered.

"This ship is supposed to be unsinkable, so we'll be fine."

"Kelly, nothing is unsinkable." He said softly.

"Well, the damage couldn't be too bad."

"No, no...it's all perfectly fine." He lied.

She saw the look of uncertainty on his face, "You're lying to me, aren't you?" He didn't reply, "Tell me the truth. Is everything going to be alright?"

"I don't know. It looked pretty bad to me. And you should know as well as I do that there is no such thing as an unsinkable ship. We'll just have to wait and see what Thomas Andrews can make of the situation."

A few minutes later, they all walked into a room. Kelly followed Jim, and since everyone seemed concerned about the situation going on at the moment, they didn't really care if she was there or not.

Thomas Andrews, the master shipbuilder, opened up his blueprints and put weights at each end of them to hold them open. "Water, 14 feet above the keel in ten minutes, in the forepeak, in all three holds, and in boiler room six."

"That's right, sir." A man replied.

Ismay snapped impatiently, "When can we get underway, damn it!?"

"That's five compartments!" Thomas Andrews said and paused for a moment, "She can stay afloat with the first four compartments breached. But not five... not five... She goes down by the head. The water will spill over the tops of the bulkheads, at E deck. From one to the next, back and back. There's no stopping it."

Captain Smith began to say, "The pumps. If we open the pumps-"

Thomas Andrews interrupted him, "The pumps buy you time, but minutes only. From this moment, no matter what we do... Titanic will founder."

"But this ship can't sink," Ismay stated, still unable to believe what he's been told.

"She's made of iron, sir. I assure you, she can. And she will. It is a mathematical certainty." Thomas Andrews replied.

"How much time?" Captain Smith asked.

"An hour," Thomas Andrews answered sadly, "Two at most."

Kelly held onto Jim's hand tightly. She was shocked. She felt like she couldn't breath.

"And how many souls aboard, Mr. Murdoch?"

Murdoch replied, "2,200 souls on board."

Smith the stated, "I believe you may get your headlines, Mr. Ismay.

--------------------

Jim had to go help with stuff, so Kelly said she'd see him later, and she went down to her room. "Mother, Father, Rebecca!" She yelled.

They all came out of their rooms, "What is the meaning of this, Kelly? It's the middle of the night."

"The ship is sinking." Kelly said, out of breath. She had ran down to her room.

"That's ridiculous. This ship is unsinkable." mother laughed.

"You have to believe me. We're really sinking. Half the people on this ship are going to die within an hour or two."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and a steward came in. "Sorry to inconvenience you, Mr and Mrs. Hoffman, but I have come to tell you to put on your lifebelts and come up to the boats."

Mother looked at Kelly for a moment, and then looked back to the steward, "Thank you." She said plainly. He left, and Mother shut the door.

"Well, it's likely just a drill." Mother stated.

"It is not a drill, mother! I was there when we hit the iceberg! I was there when Thomas Andrews told everyone the news of Titanic's fate!"

"Fine, Kelly. We'll find out sooner or later anyway. Now both of you go get your lifebelts and dressed warmly."

Kelly and Rebecca went to their room.

Rebecca quickly got a dress on, her coat, and a life jacket. "When you were on deck did you see Harold?" Rebecca asked as they headed for the door of the bedroom, followed by Annie and Isabella.

"No, I was with Jim the whole time." Kelly said. "I think Harold was sleeping."

"Oh my gosh. I wonder if anyone woke him up!" Rebecca said just as mother and father were walking out.

They walked down the hallway, "Rebecca, the ship really is going to sink. And there are only enough lifeboats for about half of the passengers. This is serious."

"What are we going to do?" Rebecca asked.

"Well, I'm sure that Harold and Jim can get us onto boats with them."

"Yes, I assume they will be in charge of the boats," Rebecca replied.

"But I will not leave the ship without Jim. I refuse to."

"And I will not leave the ship without Harold," Rebecca said.

"I'm not leaving the ship without my fiancee." Kelly said.

Rebecca gave her a funny look, "George? I say we just tie him to the railing and make him go down with the ship."

Kelly smiled, "Not George..."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "What on earth are you talking about?" she asked.

Kelly showed her the ring on her finger, "Jim." She said.

"Oh my gosh!" Rebecca almost screamed. Mother and father looked back at them and Kelly pulled her hand down. They stared at their daughters for a moment and then continued to walk.

"So now I have two fiancees..." Kelly said.

"Wow...real nice," Rebecca said as they got up on the deck and they saw the DeWitt Bukaters standing there.

------------------

Jim knocked on Harold door loudly. "Okay, okay. Give me a minute." Harold answered.

The door opened, "Jim?" Harold asked while he rubbed his eyes. "What's going on?"

"We've hit an iceberg." he answered.

"What!?" Harold yelled.

"We hit an iceberg and the ship is sinking. We have about two hours, maybe more, maybe less. Come on, they'll need help with the lifeboats."

"This is absurd." Harold replied as he got dressed in his officer uniform.

"I know it's absurd. Instead of dealing with this, I should be celebrating with Kelly."

"Celebrating what?" Harold asked.

"You know that ring I always have with me, the one in my pocket?" Jim asked. Harold nodded, "Well, it's not in my pocket anymore."

"Congratulations." Harold said and finished getting dressed. He put on his hat. Then they went to the door to leave, when Harold remembered something. He went to his drawer and pulled out the gun he had with him. "Just in case." he said to Jim. He checked to see if it was loaded and he put it in his coat pocket. They both went up to the deck.

--------------------

They stood before lifeboat #6. Crew members were helping people into the boat. "Hello Ruth," Mother said to Mrs. DeWitt Bukater.

"Hello Ellen. Isn't this so ridiculous? It's completely insane for them to be holding a lifeboat drill in the middle of the night." Ruth answered.

"So all of this is only a drill?" Mother asked and looked at Kelly coldly, "Hm... then there really is no danger."

"Yes,. I suppose they are just going to send us out on these boats for no good reason, and then pull us back in after we spend an hour in the freezing water." Ruth stated.

"Mother," Kelly spoke up, "This isn't a drill! I saw it all happen!"

"Please, control yourself, Kelly. Do not yell in public. It's not ladylike."

"Nothing I ever do is ladylike!" Kelly yelled.

The Morleys came to the same boat. "Hello Ellen and Ruth." Mrs. Morley greeted the two other women.

George walked up to Kelly and Rebecca. "Kelly, don't you ever walk away from me when I am talking to you again." he hissed.

"I'll walk away from you if I want to." Kelly said. "And you can just stop trying to talk to me."

"We're engaged, have you forgotten that?" George snapped and grabbed her hand. He saw the ring on her finger. "What's that?" he asked.

"I'm engaged."

"I know, to me."

"No, to Jim. And I'd take him over you any day, of course." Kelly smiled.

George looked at her, angered and shocked. Kelly turned away from him and looked at Mother who was talking to Mrs. Morley, "I hope this doesn't delay the trip. We need to get to New York to see Rebecca's fiancee, Michael."

"Mother, shut up" Rebecca snapped at her. Mother looked at her incredulously. "I am sick and tired of you going on and on about the wedding. I don't even want to marry him!"

"Rebecca you will marry him. Wipe that stupid sailor out of your head right now! I refuse to let you make a mockery of this family by leaving a perfectly respectable man and running off with some dirty sailor who will probably leave you for someone else anyway," Mother hissed.

Rebecca was very angry now, without really thinking she raised her hand and slapped her mother. "Don't you ever talk about Harold like that ever again!" She yelled, defending the man she loved. Then she ran off through the crowd in search of Harold.

Kelly looked at the boat, and at her mother, and then at George. She only hesitated for a moment and ran off to follow Rebecca.

"Kelly! Rebecca!" Mother yelled, "Come back!"

George took off running after the girls.

Mother looked like she was about to faint. but they put her in the boat, along with Mrs. DeWitt Bukater, Molly Brown, and Mrs. Morley. The men stayed behind on the deck.

Kelly caught up with Rebecca. "You just slapped mother!" She yelled at her as she caught her breath. Then she suddenly smiled, "Good job."

"Thanks," Rebecca said as she also caught her breath.

Kelly looked back and saw George running towards them, "Shit!" Kelly hissed and pushed Rebecca to go forward.

"What?" Rebecca asked,

"Just go!" Kelly yelled and they both kept running.

"There's Harold!" Rebecca yelled as she pointed to him, standing by a lifeboat shouting orders. They ran up to him, "Harold!" Rebecca shouted over the noise of the steam billowing out of the smokestacks.

"Hey, Rebecca, Kelly." He greeted them both.

"Harold, how long do you think until the ship goes down?" Rebecca asked.

He stared at her, "How did you know it was going to sink?"

"I told her." Kelly said, "I was standing on the bridge during the collision. I saw it all happen, and I know what's going to occur."

"What were you doing on the bridge?" He asked.

"I was with Jim..." She answered, and noticed the look of suspicion on his face, "We weren't doing anything wrong. Just kissing in an empty room. Don't worry. I think Jim and I are going to try and wait until after we're married to ever 'do it' again."

"Oh, yes, Jim told me the news. Congratulations."

"Thank you." Kelly smiled and looked down at her finger.

"Harold," Rebecca said irritably, "You still haven't answered my question."

"I don't know how long. Maybe 2 more hours. That's what I'm hearing." He replied.

"Oh, dear God..." Rebecca said.

"Where's Jim?" Kelly asked.

"He's over on the port side of the ship, helping to ready the other boats." Harold said and pointed towards the other side of the ship.

"Thank you." Kelly said and began to walk off, but Rebecca grabbed her arm suddenly.

"Kel, I don't want you to get lost. The ship is going to sink, and you need to get on a boat. So go find Jim, and then come back and find me, okay?"

"Alright." She agreed and continued to walk.

Kelly walked and put her hand to her head for a moment. She leaned against a wall for a moment. _This is absurd! One minute I'm in Jim's arms having the time of my life, and the next minute we hit a damn iceberg! Now this ship is going down no matter what we do. I can only hope things won't be a bad as they have predicted... _

Surprisingly, they deck wasn't as crowded as Kelly thought it would have been. It was loud, and only small groups stood around in the cold.

She felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her and without looking behind her she said "Oh, Jim, I've been looking for you." And she turned. It wasn't Jim.

George stood there and let go of her. "Well, I see your mind is still on him."

"Of course. He's my fiancee."

"I am your fiancee!" He yelled.

"I don't have time to deal with this right now. This is an emergency."

"Yeah, it is an emergency. Some jerk is taking you away from me. You are rightfully mine. You are betrothed to me."

"Can you just put your immaturity aside for a moment and listen to me? This is an emergency and I have to find Jim. People's lives are at stake here."

"Jim's life is at stake when I find him." George stated.

"Oh, please! He'd crush you." Kelly said.

"Let's just go back to your room or my room and discuss this." He said.

Kelly was angry now. She grabbed his shirt collar roughly, "Listen to me. The ship is sinking. I was there when it happened and I heard the news from Thomas Andrews himself. The ship will sink and half of the people here will die. Is that clear?"

"Yes." He choked out.

Kelly let go. "Did your parents leave?"

"My mother left, along with yours. Both of our fathers are still onboard."

"Why didn't they leave?"

"They won't let men onto the boats. For now it's just women and children. And also they are trying to be gentlemen and wait until the end."

"Women and children first... that means you can't leave yet either." Kelly stated.

"I guess not. I didn't know you cared whether I lived or died."

"I don't care, actually. I just wouldn't wish such a terrible death on anyone."

"So... I guess you're going to go find him, no matter what I say."

"Yes, I am. And you really can't do anything to stop me." Kelly said.

"And he's an officer. He can get you onto a boat, can't he?"

"Yeah... why do you care?" She asked him.

"Maybe he can get me on a boat." George stated.

Kelly laughed. "I doubt he'd do anything to help you. He'd rather kill you than save you."

She walked to find Jim, and George followed her.

She saw him, yelling to a fellow officer. She walked up to him quickly, "Hey." She said sweetly. He wrapped his arms around her tightly in a warm embrace.

"I missed you." He said in her ear.

"You just saw me a half hour ago." She giggled. Then she looked over and saw George rolling his eyes. She pulled back. "Honey, George is here too."

Jim looked quite unhappy at that moment. He looked very angry. But he said, "Hello, Mr. Morley. Hell of a night, ain't it?"

George was surprised, "Oh, well, yes... it sure is clear out tonight. No moon. Only thousands of stars."

Jim nodded and looked back at Kelly. "Have you seen Harold yet?"

"Yes, I've seen him. I left Rebecca with him."

"Uh oh... you left them alone? Was that a smart idea?"

"They have some self control. They can keep their hands off each other once in a while."

"But we can't." Jim said and pulled Kelly closer to him. She giggled again. He kissed her cheek and then moved to her lips.

Nobody noticed, they were too busy working with the lifeboats.

George could feel his face getting hot with anger and jealousy. He cleared his throat once, and they didn't hear it. He cleared it again, louder this time, and they pulled apart.

"Sorry." Kelly apologized.

"We get carried away like that." Jim smiled at her. "But I suppose we shouldn't be doing that while the ship is sinking."

"Yeah. I'd like to think that the crew is doing all they can in this situation, instead of shoving their tongues down women's throats the whole time."

Jim was getting annoyed. He looked down at Kelly, who seemed worried. "George. How about you go find your father." She suggested.

"No." He stated. "I'm fine right here. So I can keep an eye on you."

"That's stupid. You don't have to keep an eye on me."

"Oh, I think I do."

Kelly looked at Jim, "One minute." She said walked a few feet away with George. "What the hell was that about? You are being an obnoxious jackass! You're uncouth and rude, and utterly impertinent."

"You kissed him! Right in front of me!"

"So? I don't care. I love him, not you."

"But you are supposed to love me!" he said angrily and grabbed her wrist harshly.

"Hey!" Jim saw this and walked over, "Don't you dare touch her ever again."

George let go and stared directly into her eyes. He could see she was angry and upset now.

She walked off with Jim. His arm around her shoulders. George just stood there watching her leave him again. It brought back memories of when she left for school five years earlier,

"_You'll right me letters, right?" She asked._

"_Of course." He answered._

"_Everyday?"_

"_I'll try." He grinned. _

_They laughed together loudly. She pulled him into a tight friendly embrace. "I'll miss you Georgie."_

"_You'd better go." He said softly and sadly. He wanted her to leave before he actually cried or something. He was losing his best friend._

_She turned away and walked off into a crowd at the train station. He just stood there watching her leave._

George walked in the other direction, away from Jim and Kelly. Then he said to himself, "And I actually did keep my promise, and I did write to her everyday. She never did reply..."

--------------------

Rebecca followed Harold around as he gave people orders and helped ready another boat. "I haven't seen you all day." She said to him.

"I know, I've been busy and, also I figured if we were going to keep a low profile so that the captain would not become suspicious we should just steer clear of each other for now. But on the other hand, I've missed you terribly. How have you been?" he asked as he helped a woman and her little girl get into the boat.

"Alright I suppose, I slapped my mother," she answered.

Harold stopped what he was doing for a moment and looked at her. "What?" he asked, in disbelief. "Oh before Kelly and I came running over here and found you, Mother would not shut her mouth about you so I slapped her," Rebecca answered. Harold nodded in understanding, then turned back to a passenger and helped another woman in.

At this point a child was crying and Rebecca was leaning over a bit to see what the problem was.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" she asked the little girl.

The little girl began to cry harder and just buried her face in her mother's chest. "I think she's crying because we were rushed and she forgot her coat," the girls mother answered. Rebecca thought for a moment, then she took her coat off and handed it to the mother.

The mother looked at Rebecca with a confused look on her face. She then pushed the coat back towards Rebecca, "No dear you need your coat, your dress is short sleeved. You'll freeze without it," the woman said.

Rebecca pushed the coat back, "No please take it. It's a good coat, it will keep her nice and warm," Rebecca said. The woman looked as if she were about to argue her point but Rebecca held her hand up to keep the woman silent and wrapped the coat around the little girl.

The boat was soon lowered and Rebecca continued to work alongside Harold, taking no notice at the bitter cold that was biting at her skin.

--------------------

Kelly stood next to Jim, trying to help him with whatever could be done, "Kel, you don't need to help me. I appreciate your wanting to help, but you really don't have to. So either relax and stop trying to assist, or get in the lifeboat."

Kelly sighed, "But I want to help. I need to do something to keep busy."

He turned towards her and put his hands on her shoulders. He looked her straight in the eye and smiled, "Relax. Okay? Please, just relax. You don't need to help me. This is my fault anyway."

"How is this your fault?"

"I took so damn long to answer the phone. Maybe if I'd answered it sooner we may have missed the iceberg."

"That's ridiculous. You can't blame yourself. And if that's the case, I'm at fault too. I shouldn't have been distracting you from your work."

"No, it's my responsibility. And there's nothing we can do now."

"People are going to die, Jim." She said.

"Hey..." he whispered comfortingly, "It will be fine. You will be fine. I promise nothing will happen to you."

"What about the other people?"

"Kelly, look... we're doing all we can."

"I want to help you."

"I don't want you to get hurt. And this isn't your job to do. it's mine." Jim stated.

"Fine, I'll go back and find Rebecca." She said, feeling unwanted. She was frowning slightly.

Before she walked away, Jim kissed her cheek lightly and held her hand, "It will all be alright."

She turned and left to find her sister and Harold.

"Rebecca!" She yelled as she spotted her sister and ran up to her. When she was finally up to her, she asked, "How's everything going over on this side?"

Rebecca looked at Kelly, "Everything's alright, I suppose," Rebecca answered.

"It definitely got more crowded now." Kelly stated while looking around at the confused people.

"Well, we just need to help and get as many people onto the boats as possible," Rebecca replied.

Harold was trying to lower boat #5. "Herbert, you go in this boat, alright?" He told third officer Pitman.

Suddenly he heard some lunatic yelling "Lower away! Lower away! Lower away!" and the man was hanging onto the davit with one hand while his other arm waved in the air.

"If you'll get the hell out of the way," Harold exploded at him, "I'll be able to do something! You want me to lower away quickly? You'll have me drown the whole lot of them!"

The man looked completely abashed. He went and walked forward to boat #3.

"Harold!" Rebecca yelled, looking at him incredulously, "Do you have the slightest idea who that was!?"

He shook his head.

"That was Mr. Ismay! President of the White Star Line, also known as your boss!"

"Well, he deserved every word I said to him."

Rebecca looked around again at the crowds of scared people, that was when she felt the first shiver of the cold that had been biting her all night. Harold noticed and that's when he also realized Rebecca had no coat on. "Rebecca, love what happened to your coat?" he asked. "Oh I gave it to a little girl who was on a lifeboat. She had no coat," she answered.

"Well here, take my coat. I don't want you getting sick," Harold said as he began to remove his coat. "No, keep yours on. I'm fine really," Rebecca said. "Rebecca your shivering," Harold replied. "Well you're the officer that is trying to save people, you need the coat more than I do," Rebecca stated.

"Rebecca ple-"

"If it will make you feel better I'll run to my suite real quick and get another coat," Rebecca cut him off.

"Fine, but please be quick," Harold said. Rebecca nodded, she smiled and then after giving him a quick kiss she went running off to the suite.

"Wait up," Kelly called.

Rebecca stopped and looked at her sister, "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm going with you, figured we could grab some of the valuables real quick," Kelly answered.

Rebecca looked at her sister with amazement. "Your crazy. You do know that right?" Rebecca asked as they began to run towards the first class entrance.

"Yea, I know," Kelly said with a smile.

--------------------

Harold was loading another boat as George walked up to him. "I was wondering if you could allow a gentleman to enter the boat?"

"Well, I could, possibly. But I don't happen to see a gentleman here. All I see is some jerk trying to weasel his way onto a lifeboat." Harold stated.

"Oh, I think I recognize you. You were down in steerage that night, weren't you? You're friends with Jim Moody."

"Yes, I am. And I know all about you. You're George Morley. The man who is trying to make Kelly's life a living Hell." then Harold thought, "Wait... you remember seeing me down in steerage that night?"

"Yeah, I saw you with Rebecca. You were standing behind Jim before he walked off all defeated." George laughed.

"How do you remember seeing me, and you don't remember raping your own fiancee!?"

"Oh... well, I... uh..."

"You do remember it, don't you?" Harold asked. George didn't answer, so he yelled again, "Don't you!?"

"Okay, yes. I remember the whole damn thing! I remember every little bit of it. Yes, I was under the influence of alcohol, but I was fully aware of what I was doing the entire time."

"Then why did you do it?" Harold asked incredulously.

"Jealousy, perhaps. Maybe to gain the feeling I owned her. When she told me she slept with Jim, I snapped. But everyone else who knows thinks it was an accident, including her. I'm not in any trouble at all. I did what I wanted, and the best part... no consequences." He grinned.

"You piece of shit! Do you know how much pain you've caused!?" Harold screamed.

"Yes, I know how much pain I've caused. But I'm actually not too ashamed about it. She deserved every bit of it. She's a whore."

Harold thrust his hand at George's throat. "Don't you dare say that about her."

"Why do you care? Did the little slut sleep with you too? Is she the ship's prostitute?" He chuckled.

"You are filth! You know that? You're nothing but a filthy piece of shit! You raped your fiancee! Your sweet, kind, young fiancee, and all just to get back at her for the fact she is in love with someone else!?"

George pretended to think for a second, "Yea... yea, pretty much."

Harold still held his throat tightly, and suddenly he threw George to the ground. "You took an innocent young girl and drained the spirit out of her! You and her mother, and I'm sure other people are to blame as well, but mostly you." He kicked George in the side.

George groaned in pain and began coughing in order to get his breath back.

"You sick, twisted bastard!" Harold yelled, and then pulled George up to his feet, and held him by his shirt collar. "How could you do such a heartless thing!?" Harold had a murderous look in his eye.

"I don't care. I got what I wanted that night. And once she comes to her senses, she'll come back to me. I know she will. I can take care of her way better than that other man can."

"You're disgusting! You're scum for doing that to her."

George stood up, and put his face close to Harold's, "I don't care." Then he started to walk off, "Oh, and I suggest you keep this information to yourself. Or things will become very bad for you in the near future..."

"Is that some sort of threat, Mr. Morley? Because whatever you do to me, I won't care. She deserves to know the truth."

"You tell her anything, and you'll regret it. I swear..." George said and ran out of words. He walked away into the crowd.

--------------------

**The ship is sinking! OMG! lol. and George's big secret comes out! He is such a dick... or at least in my opinion. it's sweet how Harold kinda stuck up for her. awww... anyway, thanks for reading. chapter 14 will be out soon. Please review!**


	14. Don't Let Go

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

_**Chapter 14**_

"What should we take with us?" Kelly asked while looking through her drawers.

"Only what we can carry in our pockets." Rebecca answered.

Kelly nodded, "Should I take some of the jewelry?"

Rebecca thought about it for a moment and then nodded, "Yea if after this whole thing os over and your off with Jim and I'm off having a life with Harold we'll have the jewels as insurance, just in cause we need the money," Rebecca replied as she pulled her warmest coat out of the wardrobe and put it on.

Kelly shoved necklaces, bracelets, rings, and hair clips of all different sizes and colors into her purse. She forgot a coat, she was in too much a hurry to worry about that. "Ready to go?"

"I think so," Rebecca answered as she stuck a few trinkets into her coat pockets.

"Wait, "Kelly said as Rebecca began walking towards the door. Kelly pulled out two life belts that were in the room. "Take this." She said and helped secure her sister into one.

"Thanks, you need help with yours?" Rebecca asked as she pointed to the white jacket in her sisters hands.

"No, I think I'll be fine." Kelly said and just held onto her's. She didn't put it on, she just held onto it.

Rebecca nodded and then went for the door, she opened it and then headed up the hall towards the grand staircase and the exit that would lead them out onto the deck.

They both walked along the crowded deck, and they eventually found Harold standing by lifeboat #14. "We're back, Harold." Rebecca said cheerfully. Harold smiled at her. Kelly watched as they both looked into each other's eyes and she felt alone. Then she looked to her side, and looked at the boat next to the one she stood near at the moment. Standing at lifeboat #16 was Jim, lifting a young child into the boat. She ran to him, "Jim!" She yelled. He over at her and smiled. He didn't say anything though.

"Ok, so did you get everything that you needed?" Harold asked.

Rebecca nodded, "Yea I got my warmest coat, stuck some of my trinkets that I didn't want to loose in my pocket and Kelly got a little clutch purse and put some jewels in it. Then she helped me with the life jacket," Rebecca replied.

"Alright good," he said.

Harold looked at his pocket watch. One-thirty, it read.

Rebecca and Kelly stood near him and Jim at the front of the crowd by lifeboats 14 and 16.

Harold pulled Jim aside, "We haven't much time. I saw five boats go away and not a single officer was among 'em. I think one of us should go with the next one."

"You're right." Jim replied, "Someone has to take charge of this boat and get the women off quickly." "So who will it be, you or I?" Harold asked.

Jim thought for a moment, "You go. I'll catch the next one."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. You go in this boat and take the ladies with you. I'll get on another boat."

Harold nodded in agreement. "Rebecca, Kelly, get in this boat." He said as he took Rebecca's hand and helped her into lifeboat 14.

"Kel, I'll see you soon." Jim said.

"What do you mean? Aren't you coming with?" She asked nervously.

"I'll catch another boat." he replied.

"Then so will I." She grabbed his hand.

"Please, Kel, you must go," he pleaded.

"No, I won't leave without you."

Kelly stood next to Jim on the deck.

Harold joined Rebecca and the others in the boat.

"Kelly!" Rebecca hissed, "Come on."

"I'm staying." She answered.

"You can't!" Rebecca yelled, "Kelly!"

"Lower away!" came the order and boat 14 began its descent to the freezing water below.

"Wait! Stop lowering! My sister is still up there!" Rebecca yelled.

"Becca, we need to keep lowering." Harold stated.

A man jumped from the deck to the boat. He landed on a few people. His arm hit Rebecca in the head, "Ow," She said.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you were doing!? You coulda killed somebody!" Harold yelled.

He looked up and saw more people preparing to jump in. He pulled out his gun, "Get back! The lot of ya! Get back!" he looked at the man who'd jumped in, "If anyone else tries that, this is what he'll get!" He yelled as he fired three shots down the side of the ship.

The boat then went down peacefully. Harold sat down next to Rebecca and put his arm around her. Her head rested on his shoulder. "It'll be alright, love."

Kelly watched the boat as it descended down into the cold water.

"I can get you into the next boat." Jim said.

"No!" Kelly protested. "I'm not leaving your side." She held onto his arm tightly and stared up at him with her hazel eyes.

He could see she was a bit frightened, as well as worried. He wanted so much to kiss her again right there, but he had to get back to his work. "I'd better keep working." He said.

"Oh, alright then." She replied. "I'll go see how high the water has reached."

"Why?"

"Just to see how bad it is so far." She answered.

"Be careful." He said.

She smiled and walked off.

--------------------

Once the boat hit the water they began to row away as quickly as they could. Harold sent out the orders and Rebecca just held onto Harold as tight as she could, scared. When the boat was a good distance off everyone was silent, except for the sounds of the few women who were crying and listening to the screams of people that could be their husbands, or friends.

"Rebecca...I need to tell you something. If I don't tell somebody I'll likely explode. I don't want to keep secrets from you so..." Harold started. Rebecca pulled her head out of Harold's coat and looked up at him, blinking away the few tears that had fallen.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Well tonight while you went with Kelly to get those things from your room George came by and told me that he raped Kelly on purpose..." Harold said.

Rebecca's jaw dropped slightly. She was silent for a minute and then spoke, "He did what?!" she hissed.

"He told me that he raped Kelly on purpose. He was completely and totally aware of what he was doing the entire time," Harold replied.

"I can't believe it! That little vermin..." Rebecca said.

"Yes, I just wanted you to know. I can't keep anything from you," Harold replied. Rebecca looked down to hide the tears that were beginning to fall again.

She was crying for the ship, she was crying for the screams of the poor people who were facing their deaths, she was crying for the women who were becoming widows, but most of all...she was crying for her little sister.

--------------------

Kelly was on the grand staircase, staring at the water rising up the steps. "Oh my God..." She said softly. Then she made her way back up, hoping to get back to Jim as soon as possible

Cal stood at the top of the staircase, staring down at Jack and Rose who were embracing. His manservant, Lovejoy, tried to pull him away from the sight. Then suddenly, Cal pulled the gun out of Lovejoy's coat and started running down the stairs, shooting at them.

Jack and Rose ran down the stairs. Cal chased right after them. Kelly was walking up the stairs, and saw them run by. Then Cal came too, and his eyes connected right with her's. He fired a shot that hit the wall nearly two inches away from her arm, and another shot that would have hit her head if she hadn't had ducked. She threw herself to the ground. Then as she looked up again, he was gone, chasing off after his fiancee and her lover.

George was coming down the stairs, and saw Kelly on the floor. He ran over to her and reached out his arm to her, "Kel, are you okay? You didn't get shot, did you?"

"I'm fine!" She yelled irritably. Even though she wasn't particularly too fond of George at the moment, she grabbed his hand and stood up. She brushed herself off and looked at the shots on the wall.

Cal came back up the stairs, laughing at himself, mumbling something about a diamond.

George grabbed his sleeve harshly, "What the hell were you thinking!? I asked you to give me advice about my fiancee, not to try murdering her!"

"I was just trying to do you a favor." Cal said.

"Just get out of here with that gun!"

Cal started walking away, "It's empty," he said, and threw the gun behind him. George caught it and watched Cal walk off.

George threw the gun on the floor. Then he looked at Kelly, who was shaking.

He touched the gunshot on the wall, the one that nearly hit her head, "That was a close one, huh?"

"Yeah." she said, while crossing her arms across her chest, "Good thing the bastard can't aim."

He put his arm around her shoulders, and she froze for a moment. She looked in his eyes for a second. "I'd better go find Jim." She said, and removed his arm. Then she walked up the staircase again.

Kelly went back up to the deck and moved through the crowd. Finally she bumped into Jim again. "Oh, you're back. That's-" Then he looked at her, "You're shaking, what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing." She replied, "I'm fine. Really."

"Is it because you are cold?" He asked.

"Um... yea... yes, that's it." She lied. Jim looked at her, not knowing whether to believe her or not, "Jim... I'm fine."

He sighed. "Okay. I trust you enough to tell me when something is wrong. You must be telling me the truth." he attempted to smile.

--------------------

After a few minutes Rebecca's tears began to come slower, Harold had his arms wrapped around her and was rubbing her back in a slow soothing motion.

Suddenly she heard some passenger speak, "Are there sharks in these waters?"

Rebecca turned her head around and looked at the man. "What?!" she asked.

"Are sharks going to attack the boat or anything?" he asked.

Rebecca looked at the man with a raised eyebrow, "Are you kidding me?!" she practically screamed.

The man backed down a bit, "Uh...yes?" he said in a soft voice.

She then realized that it had been the same man that had jumped into the boat and hit her arm. "Idiots delight! As an old friend used to say," she then turned back and Harold forced a smile at her. She tried to smile back, but then she heard the screams coming from the ship and then she lost any attempt at a smile she might have had.

--------------------

Kelly stood beside Jim and helped passengers into the boat. Neither of them spoke to each other as they worked, not wanting to waste a second. Time had gone by quickly, and by now the bow of the ship was submerged.

"Kelly, you don't need to help me." Jim told her, just as he had insisted earlier.

"I want to help." She replied and noticed the look on his face, "And I'm not leaving without you. That's that."

"Kelly..." He said softly.

"Jim..." She said a bit sternly.

He gave up on trying to make her leave. But things were getting hectic around them. People were pushing and shoving to get towards the boats. "Kel, how about you go to the other side of the ship. Take a little stroll. Clear your head and relax a bit."

Kelly looked at him like he was insane. "You want me to talk a little stroll... Jim, the ship's bloody sinking and you expect me to go off and talk a leisurely walk!? Have you lost your mind?"

"No, I just wanted you to calm down and stop fussing with all this craziness. I appreciate your help, but I don't want anything to happen to you. I love you too much."

"Fine." She agreed, "I'll be back after I take a silly little walk and clear my thoughts of this mess... if that's even possible." Kelly walked away and disappeared into the pushing crowd. She could feel the desperate people clawing at her, pushing her, and yelling in her ear.

She continued to walk for a while.

She saw Mr. Murdoch, pointing out his gun. "I'll shoot any man who tries to get past me, get back!"

Then she saw an Irish man yell at him "Give us the chance to live!"

Murdoch still had his gun in front of him. "Get back!"

"Bastard!" the Irish man screamed back.

Cal leaned towards Murdoch and whispered something to him. Murdoch threw a pile of money in his face. "Your money can't save you anymore than it can save me. Get back!" He pushed Cal out of the way.

A man tried to get past Murdoch so without a moment for him to think, Murdoch raised his gun and shot the man. Then Kelly could see another man fall and push the Irish man forward. He got shot and he collapsed to the ground. An Italian man was holding onto him and yelled "_Bastardo_!" at Murdoch.

Kelly couldn't believe what she was seeing. Now Murdoch saw what he had down. Two men had died by the gun in his hand. By the trigger he pulled. He stepped out of the way of the blood that was making a line on the listing deck. Murdoch raised the gun to his head and saluted. "No, Will!" Henry Wilde yelled out but it was too late. He pulled the trigger and fell backwards into the sea.

"Oh my God!" Kelly gasped.

She saw Chief Officer Henry Wilde standing nearby trying to keep a few passengers back "Get back! Damn you!" he was yelling.

Kelly stood in the crowd, shocked and shaking. Everything seemed to be moving around her faster, while she just stood in place watching things unfold before her eyes. She rubbed arms, which were freezing cold. _This is a nightmare. Just a nightmare. Any minute I'll wake up, and be laying beside the man I love, laying in his arms. _Then she scolded herself for such thinking._ Oh, who am I kidding? Only myself. This is all happening for real, and nothing can fix it. There's nothing we can do..._

She fled the scene were two dead bodies lay; the two men who had been shot. And over the side of the ship was Mr. Murdoch himself, laying face down in the water, dead.

She ran back to Jim. Once she had reached him, she buried her face into the fabric of his coat. And she cried. She let it all pour out of her, like a waterfall.

Jim didn't say a thing. He just stroked her hair and held her close.

She let go of him after a few moments, and looked up at him with sad, tearful eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." She kept apologizing over and over again.

"Why?" He asked her softly, "Why are you apologizing to me?"

"I'm standing here, and crying. Now your coat is tear stained, and I wrinkled it a bit. I'm distracting you, and I'm bothering you, but I don't know what to do." Then she just broke down and fell to pieces.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly, "You are not distracting me or bothering me at all. You have no reasons to apologize to me."

"But I don't know what to do..." She cried.

"Shh... it will all be fine." he said soothingly into her ear.

She pulled away, "Stop lying to me."

"Kel, I'm just trying to make you feel better."

"Nothing can make me feel better. People are going to die!" She said. "Just tell me the truth."

"I don't even know the truth." He stated.

They both stood there for a moment, silently, and finally Kelly asked, "What's going to happen to us?" her voice was breaking.

He looked down at his feet, and avoided looking her in the eye. "I... I don't know..."

Kelly stared at his face, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Then suddenly, she stared over his shoulder and saw water coming up the deck towards them. The screams of people around them weren't apparent to them until now.

Jim saw she was staring over his shoulder, and she looked horrified. He looked back and saw the water rising. "Holy shit..." He mumbled under his breath. He put his arm around Kelly's waist and pulled her the other way, and they began ascending towards the steadily-rising stern of the massive ship.

People were bumping into them, pushing them, and pulling on them. One man grabbed onto Kelly's hair to keep from falling backwards. Once he let go, Kelly and Jim didn't make a big deal of it. They just kept walking as quickly as they could through the huge mass of frantic people.

They made it up to the stern, near the railing and they held on tight as the ship kept rising higher out of the air.

Jim's eyes were wide, he looked utterly terrified. He had no idea what to do now. He saw people working on freeing a boat. "I should be down there." he muttered.

Kelly looked at him, "No," She grabbed his arm tightly, "You can't! If you leave now and go back down there..." She paused for a second, "you'll die."

He kept his arm wrapped around her, and his other arm was gripping the railing so tight that his knuckles were turning white.

"What's happening, Jim?" Kelly asked.

"I think the ship is going to sink any minute." he answered.

Suddenly, the lights began to flicker, and then they went out.

Kelly let out a high pitched sort of gasp and kept her arms wrapped around Jim so tight.

--------------------

Rebecca had re-positioned herself in Harold's arms so that his arms were wrapped around her front and even though she was trying not to look she had a view of the ship that was rising higher and higher into the air. "What's happening Harry?" she whispered.

"I don't know, love," he said.

Just then they heard a loud crack, Rebecca looked at the ship in horror.

The once great Titanic was now breaking in half. Breaking as easily as if someone were to snap a twig in half.

Harold and Rebecca were struck with horror but could not bring themselves to look away.

The ship went back down onto the water, straight for a moment but then it began to rise again. "Oh God, please don't let Kelly be up there," Rebecca whispered.

Harold tightened his grip on her, scared to let go.

----------------------

When the ship broke, Kelly had accidentally lost her grip on Jim and nearly fell. Jim grabbed her quickly. He put his arm around her. "It'll be alright," he whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, I've got you."

The ship began to rise again, as the bow sank and disappeared forever.

"Don't let me go." She said in a meek voice.

"I won't." he promised.

The ship was frozen in the air for a couple of seconds, but then began sliding down into the dark ocean.

"We're gonna die." Kelly whimpered.

"No, Kel. I promise, I won't let you die." Jim replied and put his hand over her hand.

She put rested her head against his chest for a moment. Then she looked down at the water they were dangling over.

The ship slid into the water. Air came bursting out from the areas below where it had been trapped, making an exploding sound.

"When I tell you to, I want you to take a deep breath and hold it in. And don't let go of me." Jim said seriously.

Kelly nodded, and the water had just about reached them. "Okay, now!" Jim yelled, and they both took in as much air as they could. Kelly kept her arms around him tightly.

The water came up around them and swallowed them.

Jim's hands were firmly around her waist as he held onto her while the water threatened to tear them away from each other.

They surfaced, both of them were gasping for air.

"Holy shit! It's cold!" Kelly said.

Jim tried to smile at her. "You don't have a lifebelt." He noted.

"Neither do you." She replied.

"We need to find something to float on." He said and kept swimming. She followed, of course.

"Here!" he yelled as he saw some piece of wreckage, that other people seemed not to have noticed.

Kelly climbed onto a thin piece of wood, with jagged edges. Jim found a deck chair and held onto it tightly. Kelly shivered as a someone near by thrashed around in the water and splashed some of the freezing water, causing it to hit her back.

"It's cold." She complained.

"Yeah.." Jim said while a shiver traveled up his spine and he shook, "Just a bit..."

A man came over and pushed down on the piece of wood Kelly was on, and she screamed, afraid it may tip over,

Jim tried to yell at the man, "What the hell are you doing!? Let go of that!"

"B-but I... I am so cold, sir." the man stuttered. "If I d-don't get at least part of m-my bod-dy out of the wa-water... I'll freeze." He paused for a moment, "I won't last long. I'll d-die..."

"It's the same for her, and for everybody else out here." Jim stated, "Be a man. You can take the cold better than she can."

"V-very well then..." He said and swam off sadly.

Kelly began shivering very noticeably. "Jim..." She said slowly, "I'm... r-really glad... that..." she shivered again, "I stayed... with y-you..."

"Wh-y would you be gl-glad you stayed? You could be with your family right now, in a life-lifeboat. You could be safe."

"But... then I wouldn't b-be with you, now would I?"

"I never would have wished for you to stay. My biggest concern was getting you off safely." He said.

"This is st-still much bet-better than being with my mother. Or being with Re-Rebecca or Harold... D-dying with you is better than being away from you for even a moment..."

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too..." She said and felt like crying, "I'm afraid-d to cry... my tears mi-might freeze..."

Jim laughed softly. "Hopefully they'll come b-back for us."

At the moment he said that, Chief Officer Henry Wilde blew into his whistle and screamed, "Return the boats!"

"So does this mean they'll be coming back for us?" Kelly asked.

"Not for a while..." He stated sadly.

"What?"

"They are afraid... that if they return... their boat will be swamped... which is true... they need to wait for people to die off..."

"That's t-terrible." She said.

"It's the only way they can make a safe trip back and save anybody..." Jim said. "We just have to hold on a bit longer."

She put her forehead against his and they sat there in silence, listening to the screams around them.

--------------------

**Well... this ship sank... awww... Rebecca and Harold left the ship, Kelly and Jim are in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic, Mother must bein shock, and George is nowhere to be seen. And I know some of the words are written weird when Kelly and Jim are in the water. I was trying to make it seem like they were shivering and cold and stuttering. Anyway... I (Kelly) started my freshman year in high school, and have been really busy lately. So we apologize for taking so long... We will have chapter 15 posted soon. We would also like to have a shoutout to our friend Antionette Rose for the assitance she gave us in writing one of the scenes in this story. Luff ya Ann!**

**Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	15. In The Darkness

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

_**Chapter 15**_

Kelly laid quietly on the broken board of wood. She was shivering under the stars. She turned towards Jim and saw that his eyes were shut, "Jim?" She said, although her voice was hoarse and sounded like only a whisper from the cold. "Jim?" She said again, this time making a sharper sound.

His head moved a bit. "Kel..." he struggled to say. His eyelashes were frozen together.

"Oh, Jim..." She said, with a sudden feeling of hopelessness coming over her.

He forced his eyes open. The he rested his head on the jagged edge of the board. He still held onto the deck chair, as his hands seemed frozen to it.

"Jim?" She asked, and he didn't answer. "You have to stay awake." Her voice cracked a bit as she whispered.

_-------------------- _

Rebecca tried to cover the sounds of the screaming people who were in the water.

She looked up at Harold, "Love...we have to go back," Rebecca said.

Harold nodded, Rebecca was right...he knew she was right.

He then stood up and retrieved a torch out of the little box that was sitting under one of the benches in the boat.

Lifeboat 14 had since gathered around with a few of the other boats.

"We need to go back for survivors!" Harold shouted to the other people in the boats.

"We can't! They'll pull us down and swamp the boats!" someone shouted.

Rebecca then stood up, she held onto Harold for balance.

Lifeboat 14 had since gathered around with a few of the other boats.

"We will be going back! My sister might be out there in that water! I refuse to sit here and listen to a scream that could be hers and just listen to her die! Mr. Lowe, Officer Moody, and I are the only people she has left in this stupid world. Now if you want to make a fuss about it then we can throw you in the water and you can see how much you enjoy it!" Rebecca shouted.

The person sunk back into his seat and tried to hide behind a woman, as if afraid that Rebecca would jump into the other boat and attack him

In spite of himself Harold smiled at Rebecca.

"Now bring in your oars over there. And tie these two boats together as well! Now make sure that's tied up nice and tight," Harold ordered the men as Rebecca sat back down.

Some of the men began to take action, Harold turned back towards the screams.

"Right, listen to me men, we have to go back! I want to transfer all of the women from this boat into that boat as quickly as we can please. Let's create some space in here, move forward and aft," Harold shouted to the people.

At once women began to move around and empty boat 14, but Rebecca stayed put.

As Harold helped people into the other boat, he was helping an 'old lady' in a shawl who seemed much to agile.

Harold ripped the shawl off and looked into the frightened face of a young man-eyes white with terror.

Harold said nothing, but he pitched the man into boat number 10 as hard as he could.

Soon there were only a few people in the boat with Harold, Rebecca being one of those people.

Harold looked down at her, "Love, go into boat 10. There is still enough room for you," he said.

"You know, Harold during this tragedy your sense of humor amazes me. If you think for one second that I am going to sit in a boat and wait for God knows how long, while you go ahead and look for people...you are out of your mind," Rebecca said.

"But-"

"Do not argue with me Harold...I am not going to go along with it. I want to help, and I need to go so I can look for Kelly," Rebecca said.

Harold looked down, he then sat back down into the boat, Rebecca sat back down and then she grabbed an oar, and they began to row towards the screams that were becoming fewer by the minute.

---------------------

Jim had stopped moving. His breathing had slowed until it just ended all together. Kelly had her hand on his shoulder and she was shaking him gently, "Jim? Jim, please, wake up." Her voice got higher as she tried to hold back tears, "Jim... please..."

He was gone. "Jim!" She tried to yell, but it came out as a sharp whisper.

"Wake up..." She cried, "Please... wake up..." Her eyes filled with tears, but they wouldn't fall, "I need you..." She whispered softly.

--------------------

At about three o'clock the boat rowed into the wreckage.

Rebecca looked around, she saw few people moving.

"Oars!" Harold ordered.

Rebecca and a few other people lifted their oars so that they would just float, and not hit any of the body's.

"Do you see any moving?" Harold asked.

"No sir, none moving sir," a man from the front of the boat answered.

"Check them! Bring that oar up here. Check them, make sure!" Harold said.

"These are dead sir," the same man who had informed them of no one moving said.

Harold looked down at Rebecca reassuringly.

"Now give way. Ahead easy. Careful with your oars. Don't hit them," Harold said.

Rebecca leaned a bit over the side of the boat and looked to see if anyone was alive.

She worked to fight back the tears that were forcing their way up.

"Is there anyone alive out there?! Can anyone hear me?!" Harold shouted

"Is there anyone alive out there?!" Harold shouted again.

There was no response, Rebecca then let out a gasp and the sight that now met her eyes which in turn allowed the tears out.

Harold followed her gaze and saw a woman, she was now dead...but she also had her little baby in her arms, the baby was also dead.

"We waited to long," Harold said, he felt tears coming but he quickly regained his composure

"Well keep checking them! Keep looking!" Harold shouted.

Rebecca wiped her eyes and continued to look over at the body's, checking for movement.

"Is there anyone alive out there?!"

Suddenly they saw movement, just ahead, and a voice calling.

"I see him! Row! Row!" Harold ordered

The boat came up to the man, he was a Japanese man who had latched himself to a door.

They helped him into the boat and Rebecca got him covered in some blankets

A few yards away Kelly was laying on the broken board.

That's when she suddenly heard a voice, it sounded strangely familiar...Kelly turned towards the voice and saw a light coming towards her.

"Is anyone alive out there?!" she heard a female shout, a very familiar female.

Kelly recognized this as Rebecca. She picked up her arm and then brought it down again into the water, making a splash. "Rebecca?" She said, but her voice hardly made a sound. "Rebecca?" She said again, this time it came out just a little bit louder, but not enough for anyone to hear.

She turned towards Jim's lifeless body, and reached into his shirt. She found a whistle around his neck. She put the piece of freezing metal to her lips and tried to blow into it. It didn't sound like a whistle should. Probably because it was broken. But it still made a sound, just an unusual one. She didn't think it would do any good, so she let go of it. "Rebecca..." She said again. Her voice was still broken. It didn't sound like her own at all.

Harold had heard the faint high pitched squeak of a broken whistle in the darkness. "Oh god..." he said.

"What is it?" Rebecca asked.

"Did you hear that whistle?" He asked her.

"Yes, but just barely."

"I know who's it is."

"How could you possibly tell one whistle from another?" Rebecca asked.

"Jim has a broken whistle..."

Rebecca didn't say a thing.

Harold looked down, _hopefully Jim can hold on until we get there... _

Then he snapped his head up again, "Row to the left!" he ordered.

------------------

Kelly felt like crying, but the tears just wouldn't come out. _I'm gonna die..._ _There is no way I could possibly be saved now, and even so, what would be the point? I'm all alone now._ _Everyone I know and love always goes away in the end..._

As the boat rowed closer and Harold shined the light on the figure Rebecca gasped.

"Oh my God..." Rebecca whispered."it's..." She couldn't speak.

"Kelly?!" Harold shouted out.

"Harold?" Kelly called again, still in a soft whisper.

The boat got closer, rowing slowly through the sea of frozen corpses.

Harold got the boat as close to Kelly as he could. "Jesus..." He muttered under his breath, as he noticed Jim frozen to a deck chair beside her.

Kelly's skin was so pale. Her hair was frozen, and completely covered in ice. When she turned her head a bit more towards the flashlight, her hair made a soft crunching sound. She turned away from the light quickly, trying to avoid being blinded.

Harold pointed the flashlight down a bit so it wasn't directly in her eyes.

She looked back at the lifeboat. Her eyes seemed lifeless and cold.

"Kelly?" Harold said. "We're going to save you, just hold on a second." He turned to Rebecca and their eyes met for a second. She was about to cry. Neither of them said a word.

"Somebody hand me an oar!" he demanded. A man gave him the oar. Harold reached it out towards Kelly. "Grab onto this." He stated.

Kelly reached out slowly and gripped the oar. Kelly looked at Jim one last time, "I love you..." She whispered, but her voice hardly made any sound.

She moved off of the board, into the freezing water again. Harold pulled her in using the oar. When she was right next to the boat, Harold and two other men grabbed her arms and pulled her up into the lifeboat.

She rolled onto the floor of the boat, and shivered violently. Rebecca found another blanket and wrapped it around her sister. She pulled her up onto a seat, where Kelly laid down and held onto the blanket as her only sense of security now. She was safe, but still didn't feel like she was. She felt as though any minute the boat would give way and sink too, along with her spirit.

Harold made them row a bit closer, and then he reached over the side to try to pulled Jim's body into the boat.

"Someone help me...we are not leaving Jim's body here," Harold said.

Rebecca and another man tried to help Harold in the retrieving of his body but Jim was to heavy.

After several failed attempts Harold turned to Kelly.

"I'm sorry, we can't retrieve his body. He's to damn heavy," Harold said.

Kelly didn't say anything. She just cried silently until she fell asleep within a minute.

Harold then went back to the place he had been standing at before and began to shout again; "Is there anyone alive out there?! Can anyone hear me?"

"Hello?! Can anyone hear me?!" Harold shouted.

"There's nothing here, sir." a man stated.

A few minutes later they heard a shrill whistle cut through the dead silence.

Rebecca switched her attention from her sister towards the noise.

The whistle continued on.

"Come about!" Harold shouted as he spun around towards the whistle.

The whistle continued on as they rowed towards the noise.

Once they were close enough Rebecca saw it was the young Rose DeWitt Bukater.

A few men helped her into the boat and she sat down on a bench.

Rebecca handed her a blanket and helped her wrap it around her frozen body.

They gave up searching after a while and started rowing back towards where the other boats were.

In the darkness Harold had his arm around Rebecca and he held her close. She began sobbing. Harold was fighting to keep his tears inside. She nestled against his chest, within his arms.

"It's all over now, love." He said quietly. "The ship is gone, and we're fine. Kelly will be fine too... Don't worry. Don't cry. It's all over now." He spoked quietly, although in his heart he couldn't fully believe his own words.

In the dark they could make out the faint outline of a ship approaching. And as dawn began to come over the horizon, Harold felt a bit relieved. He had saved himself, and he had saved Rebecca and Kelly, along with a few others... although one man who he had saved from the water had died during the night. He should have been grateful to be alive, but for some reason he wasn't. He felt like he hadn't done all he could have. For Jim's death, he felt compelled to blame himself. He didn't understand everything about the sinking at that moment, and he didn't want to even attempt to put everything into order. All he wanted at this moment was to sleep.

--------------------

**I am sorry for this chapter being so short. And I am sorry for how long it's taken to post. I (Kelly) have been busy with school, and Becky and I simply haven't found much time lately to work on this. But we'll never quit writing this story. hopefully we can get the next chapter out sooner. And I'll bet many of you considered this chapter sad... poor Jim is dead... aww... my lover!! lol. I hope it's written right. It's 1:06 AM as I am typing these exact words. I've been up all night trying to write this. But it was helpful that it's FREEZING IN MY HOUSE!! lol. I'm shivering. haha. anyway... I tried not to copy what was in the movie. so it is somewhat different. Thanks for reading this chapter, and please please please review... I can only imagine how many of you will write "omg. i'm crying" or "omg. so sad!" or "aw... poor Jim..." lol. just a prediction. if i were you and typing a review i'd write "yayy!!! a chapter without that dick George in it!! yayy!!" hehehe... anyway... Thanks. Please review. We love your feedback. Chapter 16 will be out soon. Wow... chapter 16!! SWEET SIXTEEN!!! hehe. Anyways... I type way too much. Goodnight...**


	16. Numb

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

**_Chapter 16_**

The little boat slowly drifted towards the Carpathia, no one had the strength to row. A neighboring boat tied theirs to boat 14 and pulled them to the Carpathia. Rebecca had fallen asleep in his arms, she woke up and looked up at the ship. Rose DeWitt Bukater at that moment was also waking up.

A ladder was thrown down from the side of the ship and slowly people from the other boats began to climb up it, greeted at once by the officers of the ship.

Shortly they began to unload boat 14, Rose went up first while Rebecca woke her sister. "Kel," she began in a soft whisper, "Kelly...the ship is here to rescue us," she said. Kelly's eyes blinked open and the sadness in her eyes caused Rebecca to want to cry. "Come on, let's go," she said.

Harold knew Kelly was to weak to climb, "Oi!" he shouted up.

One of the officers on the Carpathia looked down, "What is it?" he called.

"We have a passenger who is too weak to climb. Can you send something down so you can just pull her up?" Harold called.

"Sure," the man said. A moment later, a bag looking type thing was sent down. Rebecca helped Kelly put her legs in it and as they pulled her up Rebecca climbed up the ladder, she got onto the ship before Kelly did and just as she was getting pulled onto the ship, Harold came climbing up as Rebecca helped Kelly out of the bag.

Harold walked over to Rebecca and helped her to carry Kelly, just then the ships Doctor came over.

"Was she hurt?" he asked.

Rebecca shook her head, "No...she's just weak. You might want to check her though. She was on a board of wood in the water, but she was out there for a bit," she answered as Harold looked away, feeling guilty for what happened.

"Alright, bring her this way," the man said. Rebecca and Harold carried her as they followed the doctor. "Put her in here, but you two can not come in."

"What?! She's my sister! Of course I'm going in with her," Rebecca cried.

"Miss, I am sorry. There are already a lot of people in there, we can't have two people just loitering around in there. You can wait outside on these benches," the man replied.

Rebecca would've argued, but she felt Harold pulling her away, "We will be right outside. She'll be fine," he said. Rebecca sighed and walked over to the bench and sat down as the doctor took Kelly into the room.

Just then a man walked up to them, "Would either of you be in need of a blanket?" he asked as he held them up.

"Oh I would be most thankful," Rebecca said.

"There you go miss," he replied as he handed her the blanket.

The man then hurried off as Rebecca wrapped the large blanket around her arms.

"I think that for now we should just keep silent about what George did," Harold said. "Kelly's been through enough..."

Rebecca nodded, "Yea.." she said softly.

Harold stood up and walked over to the railing of the ship, he looked down at the water, silent as a million thoughts ran through his head.

Rebecca was also silent, the thoughts and memories of the previous night racing through her mind

Harold walked back over to Rebecca a moment later, "Would you like me to get you some tea or something?" he asked.

Rebecca looked at him, "That would be nice...you don't mind do you?" she asked.

"No, of course not," he replied. Harold kissed her on the cheek and then stood up and walked off. Rebecca looked down and sighed.

She heard the sound of someone running towards her in heels, "Rebecca!" She heard someone cry.

She turned around and before she could say anything, Mother was there and had her arms wrapped around her tightly, "Oh, Rebecca, thank God you are safe!"

Rebecca sighed and hugged her back.

Rebecca pulled away a moment later. "What a greeting...the last time I saw you...what did I do? Oh yes, now I remember! I slapped you because you were speaking ill of Harold!" she said.

"Oh, let's just forget all about that. I forgive you for slapping me. Everything was a bit crazy last night. But we're safe and everything is fine." mother stated, trying to force another fake smile.

"Mother...I can't forget it! I love Harold...you don't care about that...my sister is being looked at by a doctor right now. Everything was horrible last night! Oh and mother...I know your smiles...that one was a fake one. Do not think I am going to go along with it while I know your lying to me!" Rebecca cried.

"Honey, you are obviously a tad frazzled from last night. Have you seen the doctor?" Mother asked, trying to act worried.

"What is the matter with you?! Stop acting like you care about me! All you care about is me marrying Michael...which I do not plan on for that matter...I do not need to see the doctor and I am going to be alright. Just as long as you stay away from me, away from Kelly, and away from Harold. Just please...leave us alone!" she cried.

Mother looked like she was going to cry. As hard as that is to believe, she was actually showing a sincere emotion, beside rage or disgust. Then she changed the subject, "Have you seen your father?" She asked.

"No," Rebecca answered.

"Well, he must be around here somewhere." Mother stated.

"Is that all? Father and I are The only ones you've asked about."

"Oh, right. Where's your sister?"

"I told you! She's with the doctor."

"Alright, well I see she's in good hands then. No need to worry."

"You really do not care...honestly mother...why do you even pretend?!"

Mother didn't make eye contact with Rebecca, "I'll go try to find your father." Then she walked off sadly.

Rebecca sighed as she sat back down, just then a officer from the ship walked up. "Miss...could I please get your name?"

"Rebecca Hoffman," she said softly.

"Thank you," he replied.

The man wrote it down and walked off.

Rebecca was silent as she looked around, a moment later she saw Harold walking back up with cups of tea in his hands. "Here's your tea, sweet heart," he said. Harold sat down next to her and handed her the cup of hot tea.

"Thank you," she said. Rebecca took a sip and sighed as the hot liquid went down her throat. Just then the doctor came out of the door to the infirmary. "Miss. Hoffman, you may come in and see your sister now,"

Rebecca set the cup down and stood up, she took Harold's hand and they followed the doctor into the room. They saw Kelly a few minutes later and rushed up to her. "Hi Kel," they both said.

Kelly just looked up at them quietly.

Rebecca sat down with her sister and put her arm around her, "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Fine," Kelly whispered softly.

"We're glad you're alright, Kelly." Harold said.

She just nodded. She was numb. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak. She couldn't do anything. She didn't wish to do anything, since she'd rather be dead.

Rebecca held onto her sister, scared that if she would let go it would turn out they hadn't saved Kelly. That Kelly had died along with Jim, and they had been to late to save her. "I love you Kel," she whispered.

Kelly didn't move. She didn't respond.

"I think she might need some rest right now." the doctor said.

"No," Kelly mumbled, "I don't need any rest." It was the most she'd said all day. She didn't wish to stay in the infirmary any longer. The sounds of several lamenting women didn't help her at all.

"Miss. Hoffman you have been through a very tough and dramatic event, you need to rest," the doctor said.

"Sir...forgive me, but the best healing my sister can possibly attempt to do will not be achieved in here. She needs to be in a room, alone with her thoughts, not becoming even sadder than she already is at the sounds of women sobbing," Rebecca said.

"Very well then." The doctor sighed, "But, Miss Hoffman," he turned towards Kelly, "Just promise me that you'll get some rest."

Kelly nodded slightly.

Rebecca and Harold helped Kelly stand up, "Come on, lets see if we can find a room for you to lay down in," Harold said. They walked towards the door which the doctor opened and they walked out. A few minutes later they had managed to find a spare bedroom, they went in, it was nothing fancy like the room Rebecca and Kelly had shared on the Titanic. Just a simple room with a bunk, and a bathroom.

Harold and Rebecca helped Kelly to lay down on the bed. "Are you hungry or thirsty?" Rebecca asked.

"No," Kelly muttered very quietly it was barely audible. She laid down in the bed and brought her knees up to her chest, trying to make herself as small as possible. She turned away from Harold and Rebecca. They took this as their cue to leave.

--------------------

Rebecca walked down to the room she last left Kelly. "Hey Kel," she said softly.

Kelly looked at her with dull, emotionless eyes. She didn't speak.

Rebecca sat down next to her sister, "Lets go up onto the deck. Some fresh air will do you good," she said.

Kelly didn't protest as Rebecca put her arm around her shoulders and led her up to the deck.

Rebecca blinked as they went out of the some what dark hall. "Lets go over here and sit," Rebecca said as she pointed to a bench.

Kelly sat down, and stared at the floor.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Rebecca asked.

She shook her head in response.

"You need to talk...please..." Rebecca begged.

"I'll talk when I'm ready..." Kelly said softly.

Rebecca sighed, "Very well," she said.

"I don't think you'd want to know anyway."

"Yes I do," Rebecca said.

"Everything that happened last night... the sinking... being in that freezing water for god knows how long... not knowing if I were going to live to see another day... it's all just so painful for me to remember right now." Kelly had more tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry Kelly," Rebecca said.

"You don't need to be sorry." Kelly stated. She used the back of her hand to wipe her eye, and she tried to force a smile, "Besides, you still have Harold. And that's wonderful. I am happy everything worked out perfectly for you." Then she turned away to try unsuccessfully to wipe away more of the oncoming tears.

"Kelly...that's not fair...if I could...I would be in that water right now...just to know that you would be with Jim," Rebecca said.

"Liar..." Kelly laughed.

Rebecca sighed, "I swear, if I could trade places with Jim just so I could heal my poor baby sister's broken heart...I would," she replied.

"No, nobody would ever wish that."she replied.

Mother came walking over to them before Rebecca could say anything else. "I can't get any good service on this ship. I had to ask the same steward three times for a cup of tea."

"Well mother, perhaps he was busy helping other people. People who really need it." Rebecca said.

"Perhaps..." Mother sighed. Then she looked at Kelly, "Oh my, Kelly, you look ill. We'll need to get someone to fix your hair. You can't be seen looking like this."

"Mother! Do you have any clue as to why she looks like this? Do you know what she's been through!? She nearly died last night! After the ship sank, she and Jim ended up in the freezing water, where he lost his life. He saved her, but unfortunately lost his life while doing so. She held on and then Harold and I, who had gone back in our lifeboat to pick up survivors, found her half frozen to death! It was terrible. She's had the most important person in her life taken from her, and she's been through enough last night," Rebecca was nearly in tears, "She certainly doesn't need this."

Mother just stood there with a shocked look on her face, "I had no clue..." She said softly.

"She's your daughter. No matter what, you still raised her. She's still your daughter. You need to treat her like it."

Mother sat on the bench, after wiping it off with a handkerchief first, next to Kelly. "Why didn't you get on a lifeboat?" She asked sternly.

"I was with the man I loved. He was my fiancee." Kelly replied in broken whisper. Mother didn't reply. "Yes, Mother, he was my fiancee. He proposed to me last night. He gave me this ring..." Kelly said, while staring down at the ring on her finger while trying to hold back tears.

Mother felt sympathetic towards Kelly now. "Oh, it's alright. Just let all of your feelings out." She wrapped her arms around Kelly and held her tightly. Kelly cried quietly on her shoulder.

Rebecca was shocked. She'd never really seen her mother act that worried about Kelly.

After a few moments, they stopped. Mother sat up straight and asked, "Have either of you seen your father around? I can't find him anywhere?"

"I haven't seen him at all." Rebecca answered, "but if we see him, we'll let you know."

Mother smiled partially and walked off.

And just at that moment, Harold came back.

"Oh, Harold, you came just in time. Mother just left less than a moment ago."

"I know." He replied, "I was waiting over there for her to leave." He smirked.

Rebecca laughed and threw her arms around him. She rested her had against his chest.

"Getting a bit frisky, now are we?" he joked.

"I'm just so glad you're here."

He kissed her cheek. Then he looked over at where Kelly was sitting on the bench, "Perhaps we should stop, just for now." He said to Rebecca. "I don't think it's wise to be publicly displaying our affection in front of your sister while she is still in this state..."

Rebecca nodded.

Harold let go of Rebecca and went over to the bench and sat down. "Hello Kelly," He greeted softly, "How are you feeling?"

"Not so good..." She stated slowly while staring down at her hands which were folded in her lap.

"Jim was a good man. He died with honor. And I am sure he was a lot happier spending his last moments by your side." Harold said.

"I know." She replied, with her lip quivering. "But that still won't bring him back. It doesn't matter how great of a man he was, or how he saved me, or how he died with honor. None of that matters. He's gone."

"Jim wouldn't have wanted you to be so upset. He would have wanted you to move on with your life and be happy."

"I'd be happier with him."

Harold sighed and took off his hat, then rested it in his lap. "He really loved you."

"I know he did."

"You'll always have the memories of him, and he'll always be with you." Harold said.

Then Kelly stared at him, "This is your fault." she snapped.

"What are you talking about!? My fault?"

"Yes, I told you it wouldn't work out. But still you insisted things would work out. You helped us, but that also messed things up. I told you I had to stop things before Jim and I really fell for each other, which of course we already had, but still, I needed to end things before we both only ended up hurt. Now he's dead, and I'm heartbroken. Perhaps if we had just stayed apart none of this would have happened. Actually, hundreds of people would still be alive now if it wasn't for me! He and I were kissing in the room behind the wheelhouse. It was distracting him from answering the phone in time." Then she paused, "What a minute... what am I doing? I shouldn't be blaming you. I should blame myself. I sank the Titanic."

"You aren't to blame for sinking the Titanic. Even if he had answered the call a few seconds sooner, the collision still would have been inevitable." Harold explained.

"I suppose either way, whether we got back together or not... we still wouldn't have been together. It wasn't meant to be..."

"Kel, I don't know what to say. I don't know how to make you feel any better."

"You can't make me feel better. Only Jim can."

A uniformed man walked over towards them, "Mr. Lowe? Fifth Officer of the Titanic?" he asked.

Harold stood up, "Yes, what can I do for you?"

"The Second Officer, Mr. Lightoller, was looking for you. He was trying to gather all of the surviving officers together for a brief meeting."

"Oh, alright. Thank you." Harold said and stood up. "I'll be back soon."

He followed the man and left.

"Kelly," Rebecca said, "It really isn't fair to put the blame on Harold, nor is it right to put it on yourself."

Kelly didn't reply to this. "I think I'm going to go walk around... see if I can find anyone I knew..."

Then she left Rebecca standing there alone.

--------------------

"Hello, Harry." Officer Lightoller said as Harold entered the room.

"Hello Lights..." Harold replied softly. He looked around and saw only himself, Second Officer Charles Lightoller, Third Officer Herbert Pitman, and Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall. "Is this all there is?"

"I'm afraid so." Mr. Lightoller stated sadly.

"I just can't believe this is it... Are you certain?"

"Yes. Murdoch was witnessed dead. Henry would have reported to somebody right now. Captain Smith went down with the ship, apparently. And nobody has any information on Jim."

"Jim is dead... I saw him when I went back for survivors..." Harold stated slowly.

"I heard you went back to find survivors. Along with that girl you've been with for the past few days." Mr. Lightoller said.

"Wasn't Jim also hanging around some girl? A very good looking girl, if I do say so... " Joseph Boxhall said.

"Her name was Kelly. I saved her from the water. That's when I found Jim's body next to her's. I tried to retrieve his body, but he was too heavy for Rebecca and I to lift."

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"I heard from someone that there are rumors that Will Murdoch shot himself... they say it was suicide..." Mr. Pitman stated.

"Will wouldn't do that." Officer Lightoller said.

"And apparently, Captain Smith went down with the ship, God bless his soul."

"We lost so many good men that night... God bless all of their souls as well."

The men all bowed their heads and were silent for a awhile...

--------------------

Kelly stood against the railing, breathing in the cold air. She stared down at the water. The cold, merciless water that had taken her love away from her.

"Kelly?" She heard someone behind her ask. She turned around. "Kelly!" The person said excitedly and ran over to her. It was George Morley. He put his hand on her arm lightly, "Oh my gosh, Kel, I'm so relieved you're alright!"

She didn't say anything, just stared into his eyes. He could see how they turned from the usual greenish hazel to almost a cold grey. "Kelly, are you alright?" He asked worriedly, suddenly calming down.

"No," She replied, "I'm not."

"Where's Jim?" he asked, looking around.

"You know..." She said morosely.

"You mean he didn't make it?" He asked, shocked.

Kelly nodded.

"Oh my God, Kelly, I'm so sorry!" He said quickly.

"It's fine..." She said softly.

"How do you know he's dead? He might be somewhere on the ship?"

"I watched him die." She answered.

"Oh... I'm very sorry, Kel."

Kelly turned away from him, and looked down at the waves hitting the side of the ship. It made her feel sick.

"It got on a boat at the very end. I saw the last boat, collapsible B. It was upside down the whole time. I had to stand on it all night. I'm lucky to be alive..." He explained. "Then two boats came by and took us off right before we got onto the Carpathia." He paused for a moment, "What boat did you get on?"

"I didn't get on a boat." She said. "I went down with the ship, along side Jim. We spent what seemed like hours in that goddamn ocean! I got rescued by Harold's boat, and Jim... well... he froze to death..."

"Oh, Kelly..." Was all he could think to say. He pulled her into a friendly embrace. "I'm really glad that you survived."

"Yea..." she said unenthusiastically, "me too..."

-------------------

Harold took his jacket off and set it onto the back of a chair that was at the desk, and placed Rebecca's on top of his, the room was small but comfortable.

He sat down on the bed and moved over so Rebecca could lie down with him.

She rested her head on his chest and listened to the sounds of his heart beating, it was so soothing to hear the rhythmic beat.

Harold wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him, scared that if he let go, she would be gone forever.

"I love you," Rebecca said in a soft whisper, trying to fight back tears as she thought of the last time they had laid in a bed and he had held her like this.

It had been just the early hours of the morning before, when they had shared his bed on the ship, a bed which was now at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Harold looked down at his lover's face, he saw the tears that were glistening on her cheek and quickly wiped them away.

"Please don't cry, it's going to be alright," he said.

Rebecca nodded and shuddered as she pushed the tears away.

"It still doesn't feel real…I feel like…it's all a dream. I feel like I'm going to wake up at any moment, I'll be in your arms in your little room, Kelly won't be heart broken, she'll be with Jim…having the time of her life, that in a few more days we'll be in New York, no worries. We can just be together, making our plans to escape my mother and Michael. The four of us, happy to be alive, and in love. I feel like that, but deep down…I know it's all not true. I know that if I fall asleep, here in your arms….I'm still going to wake up in this room. I know that thousands of people will still be dead, and I know that my sister will still be in pain."

When Rebecca finished she looked up at Harold, and as she looked into his deep brown eyes, she saw sadness. It was the same sadness that he saw in her eyes.

Rebecca pulled herself closer to him, also afraid to let go.

"I love you too," he said finally.

For awhile the couple stayed there, not wanting to let go, but finally Rebecca pulled herself away from him.

She sat up with a sigh, "What's wrong?" Harold asked her.

"I should probably go and find mother, she's been looking for Father all day. I need to see if she found him or not," Rebecca answered.

Harold also sighed and then sat up, positioning himself next to Rebecca.

"Come back soon, I don't want to send a search party out for you," he said, laughing.

Rebecca giggled slightly but then stopped, feeling that she was evil for laughing while people were out on the deck, sobbing for their loved ones.

"I'll be back in a bit, I promise," she replied.

Rebecca stood up, took her jacket off of Harold's and put it on.

She left the room and walked up to the deck, in the distance she could hear the sounds of people crying.

Rebecca walked for a bit, trying to spot her mother, but found no one.

She continued to walk and then stopped an steward.

"Yes Miss?" he asked.

"Have you seen a woman, should be wearing a yellow evening gown, large fur jacket, gloves and such. She has blonde hair that is turning gray, and well….looks rather like me?" she asked.

The man nodded, "Yes Mrs. Hoffman. I was making some rounds and she asked me about getting a room to stay in and a cup of tea. I informed her that she would have to go to an officer about it and then she noticed I had a list of the survivors with me, she asked to look at it and then her face went pale. I noticed that she seemed to have gotten upset, so I took her to a little cabin," the man explained.

"Where is that? She's my mother and I need to talk to her," Rebecca inquired.

"I'll show you the way," he answered.

The man turned around and began to lead her towards a door. They walked in and went down a few floors, he showed her the door and then left.

Rebecca knocked on the door, but all she heard was a muffled 'come in.'

She opened the door and walked in, the lights were off, but on the bed she could make out the figure of her mother, on her side, sobbing…..

--------------------

**OMG!! We're so sorry!! We haven't updated in a long time!! I, kelly, joined colorguard at my school and that took up most of my time. And Becky has been having issues with computers. But we got it done. Finally... hope you aren't mad at us and wanna beat us to death... oh wait, i suppose I shouldn't be giving you ideas... oops. Well, we see the girls survived. Everyone is sad. George lived... and we'll learn in the next chapter why mother is crying... Please, review... we're very sorry for taking so long, and if you review we'll give you a cookie... well, not really, but we wish we could. Chapter 17 will be up soon... we promise this time.**

**Also, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, just in case we somehow don't update soon enough. Happy Birthday to Becky (December 17th). And also, Happy Birthday to myself, lol (December 14th).**

**Thanks for reading. Please please please review!!!**


	17. Survivors

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

_**Chapter 17**_

Rebecca walked deeper into the dark room and approached her mother.

"Mother? What's the matter?"

"Oh, Rebecca dear..." her mother reached out feebly into the darkness.

Rebecca took her mothers hand and sat down. "What's the matter?"

"It's your father... he's..." Mother began to weep again.

Rebecca took her mother into an embrace, ignoring the result of how she was treated for the last few days by her mother. "What's wrong? What's wrong with daddy?"

"He didn't make it, dear." Mother said quickly in between sobs. Then she broke down again.

Rebecca looked as if she had been punched. "W-what?" she asked.

Mother did not answer. She couldn't get out words. She was crying too hard, and what words could be said? That was the truth. Plain and simple. She didn't know anything more.

Rebecca tried to bite back the sobs, the sobs she had kept in from earlier with Harold. But the fact that she had lost her father...her daddy...she could no longer keep anything in, and at that moment Rebecca broke into sobs.

--------------------

Kelly was trying to sleep. but she couldn't. The images kept flooding back to her every time she closed her eyes.

---------------------

Rebecca had since left her mother, she needed to be with Harold.

He turned around and smiled. "Oh, hello Becca, what's- Oh, my. Are you alright? What happened?" He placed his hands on her shoulders gently.

Rebecca said nothing but buried her face into Harold's chest, sobbing into his coat.

He placed his arms around her and held her to him tightly.

Rebecca continued to sob but pulled back as she choked back her sobs. "My... my father...my daddy...he did not make it," she said.

"Oh, Rebecca, I am so sorry!" he said and did not let go of her.

Rebecca began to sob into his arms again.

He stroked her hair gently and rested his face on her hair. "It'll be alright." and then he kissed the top of her head.

"I...I have to tell Kelly...I do not want to. But...I've got too," she said after she had collected herself.

"Perhaps it'd be best to wait a while to tell her? She can take this, but not now..."

"Harold...I can't keep this from her!!!"

"I don't mean you have to keep it from her. Just wait for her to recover a bit."

"Yea, and then make her like this again just as she started getting better? no way!"

"Alright. Do what you think is best." Harold said.

Rebecca pulled Harold along by the arm as they headed back to the room where they had left Kelly.

They walked down to the room, when they walked in they found Kelly still curled into a ball on the bed. "Kel?" Rebecca asked in a soft whisper.

Kelly turned over slowly and stared at the two. "What do you want?" she hissed.

Rebecca walked in and sat down next to her sister. "I...I need to tell you something," she replied.

"What is it?" Kelly asked worriedly.

"I...I really didn't want to tell you...but I have to. It's father...he..." Rebecca tried to not start crying again.

"He didn't make it, did he?" Kelly asked softly, searching Rebecca's face for an answer

Rebecca nodded as an answer.

Kelly collapsed into her sisters arms.

Rebecca pulled her closer and sobbed into her sisters arms.

Harold went over and sat on the other side of Kelly. He joined in on the embracing.

After a moment, Kelly whispered, "Now both of my parents are dead..."

Harold looked up, "Wait a minute...what?"

"My real mother is dead... If you've already heard, mother is not my real mother. My real mum is dead. She died in childbirth... all because of me..." Kelly began to cry again. "I'm practically an orphan..."

Harold and Rebecca stayed with her for a while.

--------------------

A few days had passed. It was now the evening of April 18th.

As they made it up to the deck, in the distance they saw a figure, tall and mighty standing in the distance. "What is that?" Rebecca asked.

Harold squinted and then his face broke into a smile, "We've made it! That's the statue of Liberty dear," he replied.

Kelly stared out at the statue and then looked down into the endless darkness. She could hear the waves splashing alone the side of the ship. It made her feel sick.

"You hear that Kelly? We've made it!" Rebecca cried.

Kelly stood their motionlessly.

"It's going to be okay now," Rebecca said.

"How?" Kelly asked. Rebecca didn't respond. "How!? I'm begging you to tell me how in your opinion it's all gonna be okay now!? Because I just don't see it..."

Rebecca sighed, "I...I don't know how...but things will be better," she replied.

"Not the way I see it..." Kelly said. She let one tear escape through her eyes and Rebecca could hear her let out a soft sob.

Rebecca looked to Harold for help, he couldn't think of any to give. Rebecca sighed again and helped her sister walk towards the place were people were starting to flock so that they could get off of the ship.

Kelly stood in the crowd of people. She remembered climbing up to the stern with Jim and being surrounded by a mass of terrified people. She nearly fainted, but Harold grabbed her before she fell. Rebecca held her up, "Kelly, what happened?"

"Nothing..." Kelly muttered softly.

"Are you sure?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes, now just leave me be." Kelly stated. She took a few steps in front of Rebecca and Harold. "I can walk on my own, I'll be fine."

"Alright," Rebecca said, not wanting to argue and cause her sister more grief.

Kelly kept moving through the crowd of passengers. She saw a few women crying. She was still walking and she looked back and didn't see Harold and Rebecca behind her.

Harold and Rebecca noticed that Kelly had gotten ahead of them, they took each other's hands and rushed through the crowd, not wanting to get separated from Kelly.

Kelly turned around and was walking backwards as she tried to see how far ahead she was of Rebecca and Harold. She suddenly fell backwards and landed on the hard deck. "Oh, I'm very sorry, miss." A tall man said. He had apparently tripped her accidentally. He reached out his hand to help her up. It reminded her of how she had met Jim, "No!" She yelled and got up by herself. She then ran off further into the crowd.

Rebecca searched the crowd for her sister but could not spot her. "Harold I can't find her!" she cried.

Rebecca continued to push through the crowd and then just ahead she saw Kelly. "Kelly! Where did you go?! You should not of run off like that! Something could have happened to you!" she cried.

"What more could happen to me? I'd get killed? That'd be a blessing. Probably not only for me." Kelly stated.

"Kelly what the hell is that supposed to mean?! There is a reason why you survived and Jim did not! I do not know it yet, but one day we will," Rebecca said just as Harold caught up with them.

"What reason is there? It's not like I was a better person than him. And it's not as if I'd be at all better off without him. I wish I were dead right now! I've lost everything. He died and I survived. I wish I were dead along with him, instead of him having died so gallantly for me, I'd rather I died with him. I have nothing left now. Just look at me, I'm already dead inside!" then she whispered, "Can't you see that? Or were you too busy enjoying your perfect little life with Harold to notice?"

Rebecca stared long and heard at Kelly, hurt that she could use Harold against her. "Kelly...what more do I have to do?! I already told you that I'd rather be at the bottom of the ocean than Jim! If I could take his place, then I would! I would give anything in the world to see you smile again! To hear your laugh and to see you just be happy! I wish I could! But I can not! I hate myself for the fact that I survived and your fiancee died. I can not change things, as much as I wish I could. So what more do you want me to do Kelly?! What more can I do?!" Rebecca cried.

Kelly was furiously trying to wipe tears away from her eyes, "Just leave me alone now and give me some space!"

"I can't! We have to get off the ship!" Just as Rebecca said that her mother walked up, looking pale as if she had been crying the last few days. When mother saw her daughters she pulled them both into an embrace.

Kelly cried softly on Mother's shoulder.

"Girls," Mother said with a shaky voice, "I'm afraid we have a real problem here... We're broke. Without your father, we're broke..." Mother started to sob again.

Kelly pulled away and stared at her shocked, "Is that all that matters to you!? My father is dead, and all you care about is money? You selfish witch!"

She walked off again angrily, pushing through the crowd, not caring who was in her way. She brushed past George, "Kelly!" He yelled.

She kept on walking. He pushed his way towards her, "Kelly, wait!"

"Leave me alone." She said.

"Kel!?" He yelled.

She turned around, "What!?" She screamed at him.

"Kelly, what's wrong?" he asked, staring at her red tear-stained face. "

"Everything! Now leave me be!"

She tried to leave but he grabbed her wrist. "Kelly, you shouldn't walk off alone. "Talk to me. Please."

"You wouldn't understand, nor would you care." She stared down at her feet.

"Of course I would care," he said and grabbed her chin gently to turn her head up to look at him. He looked right into her dull, deadened eyes.

"Everything I once had is now gone. Jim is gone. My father is gone. My self respect is gone. My life is gone." She said.

"My father is gone too..." He replied.

Kelly wiped away another tear. George dug out a handkerchief from his pocket for her to use. "I'm so sorry to hear that, George." She put her hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright." He answered.

"You just got over it? Just like that?"

"No. I still miss him, I mean. I'm not gonna go crying over it. He would be disappointed to see his only son, the boy he'd tried to raise to be a strong, tough man, fall apart over something like this."

"George, crying wouldn't make you any less of a man." Kelly said.

"I need to make him proud." George replied.

"I just want to get out of this nightmare..."

"You and me both..." He said.

She hugged him. Although he treated her terribly on the Titanic, to her he was the only one she could talk to. He was the only person who understood her at this time. She needed somebody and he was there. So forgetting everything that had happened in the past few days, she cried on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. "I'd like to tell you everything will be alright, but I can't promise that... All any of us can do is wish..." He whispered into her ear.

--------------------

Rebecca looked at her mother. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" she cried.

"Rebecca Anne Hoffman, don't you dare speak to me in such a manner, especially not while I'm in such a condition." Mother scolded.

"I will talk to you however I wish! Kelly is in mourning mother! Your supposed to be grieving over your husband! Not the lost millions!" Rebecca cried.

"I'm grieving over both. Your father was a good man... perhaps not the best since he had cheated on me for years and never once did he make me feel loved, but that's beside the point. He was my husband and I must mourn him appropriately. We can move on after his death, but without the money, Rebecca, we're nothing."

"Money is not everything mother!" Rebecca half screamed.

"How will we live without money? We have to pay off a few debts I know your father has. And after that who know what will be left. He'll no longer be making money. That bastard better have left me everything in his will..." Mother said worriedly.

Rebecca looked like she might cry, "My father has just died!!!! What is wrong with you?!?! Sure there will be debts but we can take care of everything! But for once can you not worry about money and social status and worry about Kelly and I?!" she screamed.

"Of course I worry about you, dear. It's just things are a bit complicated and everything is going wrong. How are you holding up?" Mother asked, trying to lightened the tense conversation.

"I'm doing fine, except for trying everything in my power to help my mourning sister!"

"Kelly will be fine." Mother said. "She always was one to overreact and become all dramatic."

"Mother?! Her fiancee has died!!! She is not overreacting! She is crying for Jim! He was a wonderful and amazing man! And if you ever bad mouth him, Kelly, or Harold ever again...I am not afraid to slap you like I did last time!" Rebecca cried.

"I'm not in the mood for this conversation right now. Let's just get off the ship as soon as possible. Michael, your fiancee, is coming to pick us up."

Rebecca stopped, she had completely forgotten about him. She noticed Harold standing close by, but not close enough for mother to see him. "But... I... I'm not marrying Michael. I told you that," she stammered.

Mother leaved in close to her, "We need this... I need this. You must marry Michael for the sake of our family."

"What family?! The only family I have is Kelly! I'm not marrying a man that I do not love!" Rebecca cried.

"Rebecca, you must marry him. And no matter what I am still your mother!"

"Why?! Why do I have to marry him?!" Rebecca cried.

"Do not argue with me now!" Mother said angrily. "Let's just get off this ship."

"Fine," Rebecca muttered.

Rebecca looked behind her and saw Harold standing a few feet away, avoiding Mrs. Hoffman.

"I've got to go with her, but I love you," she mouthed.

Harold smiled at her and walked away. He saw two people embracing. _They look like a cute couple. Now I really wish Rebecca were here at my side..._ He thought.

Then he saw the two pull apart. It was Kelly and George. He went over to them. George gave him a cold look that Kelly didn't notice, "Hello Harold" she said.

"Kel, how about you come with me and we'll go find Rebecca and your mother." He tried to grab her arm.

"No," She stepped back, "I don't want to see them."

"But they're your family."

"I hardly have a family anymore, alright?" Kelly replied coldly.

"You have Rebecca." Harold stated.

"But I've lost my father, my mother is not really my true mother, and I've lost the only man I ever truly loved..."

"But you still have your sister... and me." he smiled.

"And me." George added. Harold stared at him angrily.

"George, how about you go find your mother and father or someone." Harold said to make him just go away.

"My father is dead and my mother is an emotional wreck."

"Then why don't you go comfort her."

"My mother will be fine. Right now I am working on comforting Kelly."

"Well, I can take it from here. You might want to just go."

"No."

Harold sighed and decided not to argue it any further. George wasn't going away.

George smirked at Harold.

Harold looked at him and thought about what a disgusting, vile man George was.

Kelly was silent.

The three of them walked to get off of the ship.

--------------------

"Why is it so crowded around here?" Mother asked, sounding irritated.

"Mother, we have just survived one of the most traumatic and horrifying tragedy's in history, most of these people are reporters, and or they are pedestrians hoping to find their family members amongst the survivors," Rebecca replied.

"Oh..." was all mother said.

Rebecca sighed, "Where's Kelly? We shouldn't leave without her."

"I'm sure she'll catch up..."

"Glad you're so worried about her," Rebecca muttered.

"I'm not in the mood, Rebecca. I don't wish to argue with you now. Especially not in public where everybody is watching. Now just behave."

"You know I'm not a puppy you can order around anymore," Rebecca said.

"I know you're not a puppy. You have a few more manners than that."

"Well stop ordering me like I'm a puppy," Rebecca snapped.

"Alright, Rebecca. Now let's stop this and just get off this ship."

"Fine," she muttered.

They continued walking, but in silence.

--------------------

Harold and George stood on either side of Kelly. they walked down the gangplank. When she first stepped onto solid ground again, she nearly collapsed, but the men held her up. "It's alright, Kel. We've got you." Harold told her. She used most of her strength to stand and hold up her head.

--------------------

Rebecca and Mother continued to walk through the crowd, Mother seemed to know where she was going, but Rebecca wasn't fully paying attention. Her mind was elsewhere, thinking about her sister and Harold.

Mother said, "We need to find Michael. He's supposed to be picking us up here."

Rebecca sighed and then began to look around, knowing that if she tried to argue the point again she would lose...again.

Up ahead of them was an expensive car, with a man, 30 years old or so, standing next to it, staring at a pocket watch.

Mother seemed to have spotted him and her face lit up. Rebecca saw this and her hearts dropped, she knew the man was Michael, and he was no where near as good looking as the man who actually owned her heart.

Mother hurried her pace as they neared the man, "Oh, Mr. Sullivan, it's so lovely to finally meet you." Mother said. The man shut his pocket watch. "This is my daughter, Rebecca." She pointed out to him.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs Hoffman." he kissed Mother's hand. "I saw the survivor list that was posted. I'm very sorry to hear about your husband's untimely passing."

Mother's eyes started to tear. She patted his hand, "You're such a sweet man. Thank you."

"You're welcome." He said and smiled. Then he looked at Rebecca, "And hello to you, miss Hoffman." He went to kiss her hand as well, but she jumped back. Michael was confused for a moment, but then just laughed it off, "Very well then."

"It's fine," Michael said, "You're likely just tired, and not up to talking. I understand. We should head to the hotel."

"We really should wait for Kelly though, or have you two forgotten? I have a sister, she may not be your daughter Mother, but she is still my sister," Rebecca said.

"Yes, we must wait for your sister. Now where is that girl?" Mother said impatiently.

Harold saw Rebecca up ahead. Then he saw her mother standing near her, so he knew he couldn't go to her like he wished to. "Kelly, I'm going to have to leave now. I'm sorry. Will you be alright?"

She didn't reply. George said, "Yes, I'll take good care of her." and shot a cold look at Harold.

He left, and George had his arm around Kelly, helping her walk through the rest of the crowd to Mother.

Rebecca looked around and just a few feet away she spotted Kelly with George, she waved at them, beckoning for them to approach.

Kelly saw Rebecca and Mother. Then she noticed a tall man next to them. She, with the help of George, walked towards them.

Kelly moved away to get George's arm off of her. Once she was away with nothing holding her up, she nearly fell over, from exhaustion most likely.

Rebecca pulled her sister into a hug, "I hate this man even more now," she whispered in Kelly's ear.

Kelly didn't say anything. She pushed Rebecca away. She didn't feel like talking to anyone.

Rebecca felt a hard pang in her heart, the one person she had left right now was Kelly, and she couldn't even talk to Kelly. She sighed then looked to her mother, "Can we just go now?" she asked.

"Yes, I'd like to get away from here as fast as possible. There are too many poorer people around... I'm afraid. And fatigued. Let's go."

Rebecca opened her mouth to snap at her mother, but shut it, to sad and tired to argue.

Kelly turned towards George, "Bye..." She said emotionlessly.

"I'll see you soon." He replied. He tried to smile.

She entered the car, she look back, but not at George. At the Carpathia, and the ocean that lay beyond the crowd. The cold waters that had taken her beloved...

They all entered the car. Michael opened the door for Rebecca. She hesitated, but stepped inside.

Once she was seated beside her sister, Rebecca looked around the interior of the car. It reminded her of the car they had left behind in Southampton. Leather seats, little lights on the wall, plush velvet lined walls, she sighed at the extravagance of it and then rested her head on the window, looking out at the city.

-------------------

Alright, you can blame me completely for this taking so long. I only had to write one tiny scene in here to finish it off but i kinda put it off for a month... I'm so sorry... This is Kelly speaking, by the way. Haha. Anyway, feel free to beat me. I hope you like this. and we're working as fast as we can to write this. We are no abandoning this story. We have so much planned for it. Stuff you'll love. So please, forgive me. Please review. ---Kelly.


	18. Hard To Let Go

_**Titanic- "Come What May"**_

_**Chapter 18**_

The car arrived at the hotel. Michael stepped out first and helped out Mother, then he offered Rebecca his hand. She took it, secretly rolling her eyes. Kelly slowly climbed out of the car. They all walked into the front entrance of the hotel.

Rebecca forced her arm around Kelly's and helped her to keep her balance as they walked into the grand building. The interior was amazing, brightly lit and a large statue of two lovers embracing was in the middle of the room. Rebecca sighed and prayed that Kelly did not see the statue, it was the last thing her sister needed right now.

Kelly looked up and saw the statue. She thought about Jim. How warm and safe she felt in his arms. How he'd kiss her and love her. How with every moment he had looked at her, she felt absolutely beautiful in his eyes. But that was over now. he was dead. And so was she inside. Her mouth began to tremble and tears filled her eyes. She looked down at the floor again and let Rebecca lead her away from it.

Rebecca glanced to Michael who was giving mother a blow by blow description on what he knew about the hotel. "Excuse me, but my sister is about collapse, we are both very tired, can you give the history lesson later and get us to the bedroom?" she snapped.

"Oh, of course, Darling." He said. The fact that he had called her that made Rebecca feel like gagging.

"I think I'm going to be sick," she muttered as she followed Michael and her mother to the lift.

The rode the lift up to the fifth floor.

When they walked out Rebecca looked up and down the hall, the walls had white paneling, they were lined with pictures of people that she had no desire to know about, and on the floor there was a long red carpet. But the hall reminded her a bit of the hall to her bedroom on the ship. She let out a sad sigh and followed as Michael showed them their rooms.

They found their room. It was actually quite large. There were three separate bedrooms. One for Kelly and Rebecca to share, one for Michael, and one for Mother.

Rebecca glanced at her sister and then led her to the bed in the room for the sisters. She sat Kelly down and looked into her eyes, "Do you want a glass of water?" she asked softly.

"No." Kelly whispered.

"Alright just lie down for now, I'll be in the next room if you need anything," she replied.

Kelly didn't reply at all. She just sat on the edge of the bed and stared out the window. It was dark and rain drops were falling against the glass.

Rebecca straightened up to her full height and placed a kiss on her sisters head, she then walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. She looked at her mother who was fussing about how she was allergic to the flowers that were placed elegantly around the room. "Mother...can you please for once...just stop?" Rebecca asked.

"But, dear, I am allergic to these." Mother said, "Something must be done about them. And also about these curtains, they are hideous."

Rebecca looked at the curtains, "They are fine mother!" she said.

"Do not use that tone with me, Rebecca."

"Look just throw the flowers out, but soon this hotel is going to be over run with anybody who survived the disaster. The women working here will not need another stuck up first class woman ordering them to remove the curtains, and to get new flowers in here. The room is fine and you should be grateful for what we have left!"

"I have just lost my husband and I'm under a bit of stress right now. I do not need to have a allergic reaction to these disgusting flowers, or stare at these hideous curtains all day. We paid good money to be here." Mother explained.

Rebecca threw her arms up in disbelief, "Mother, you are utterly impossible!"

"I am not impossible. But when I spend so much money on a nice hotel room, I expect to get what I want."

"I'm so glad your so worried about a husband you did not really love! I can see that's taking a real toll on you! Your stressed because you have no idea if you will inherit his money or not.

The room is fine and so are the curtains, and I do not want to hear about your stress because I am the only one taking care of Kelly, I am set to marry in two weeks, and then I have an ungrateful mother who only cares about money! So if anybody is stressed in what's left of this family it is me!"

"I think I need to lie down." Mother stated and left to her bedroom.

Rebecca shook her head and then went to the little en-suite kitchen, she retrieved a glass from the cabinet and poured herself a glass of water. She took a sip of the beverage and sighed, she glanced down at the large diamond on her finger and sighed once more.

Right now the only thing she truly wanted was to see Harold, she needed to feel the warmth of his arms around her, and his voice whispering that everything would be alright.

Michael walked in. "Oh, Rebecca, what a pleasure to find you in here."

Rebecca resisted the urge to roll her eyes and she forced a fake smile to her face, "I was just thirsty before I retire," she explained.

"Oh, well perhaps we could talk a bit." He smiled.

"About?"

"About anything really. Since we are engaged, I thought it might be nice to actually get to know my lovely fiancé."

She giggled and if anyone who knew her well enough could tell it was forced, "Well what do you want to know?"

"Umm... how was your trip?" He asked, not really knowing what to ask.

"Oh it was fine...that is until you know...the ship hit an ice berg, sank and I was left in a life boat for what felt like hours and hours listening to people's screams for help...seeing a baby frozen in the water when our boat went back for survivors. The trip was just peachy," she answered, sarcastically.

"Oh, yes, of course. That was stupid of me to ask." He started scratching his next uncomfortable. "Well, other than that was it at all enjoyable?"

She nodded, "Yes..." she actually did smile but not because of Michael but because her memories from the trip came flashing back. Harold leaving the kiss on her hand, when she arrived at his room and kissed his face off, when they spent the night together...the good memories flashed through, and they were memories she would always remember.

"So... your sister, Kelly, right?" he asked, Rebecca nodded, "Is she suffering from shock or something?"

"She...well...someone she was very, very, close to...he did not make it," she answered, choosing not to bring up that Jim had actually proposed marriage as she was sure mother had probably mentioned the impending marriage to George Morley already.

"Oh, that's terrible. What was the man's name? I'd know a lot of people from first class, perhaps I know of him."

"He...well he wasn't a passenger...he worked on the ship, good friends with the man that I believed my mother mentioned in her messages to you."

"Oh, so she befriended a crew member?"

Rebecca nodded, "You could say that I suppose..." she trailed off.

"And that man that you knew, Mr. Lowe, I think it was... you must forgive me, I am terrible with names. How did you meet him?"

"Yes it's Harold Lowe, we seemed to keep bumping into each other and he struck up a conversation with me. Mentioned how he thought it was odd that a woman should be walking around without an escort, so he took it upon himself to...make sure I was alright," she answered slowly.

"Well, well, what a gentleman." Michael smiled.

"Yes he is quite the gentleman."

"I'll have to meet him sometime..."

"Well perhaps at the wedding," she said softly

"Perhaps we could have lunch. Just the three of us. Unless he has a lady he'd like to bring along."

"No, no, he doesn't have a lady to bring along. He's not seeing anyone." Rebecca answered quickly.

"Alright then. Well, then it's just the three of us."

"When would you like to plan this?" she asked, hope in her voice, but she was praying Michael would not hear the difference in her mood.

"How about Saturday afternoon?" Michael suggested.

"That should be fine, I will just have to find out where Har- I mean Mr. Lowe is staying," she said.

"Alright. Splendid."

"Very well," she took another sip of her water to hide the wide grin caressing her features.

He took out his pocket watch, "It is getting late. We can talk more tomorrow, but I think I am going to retire to bed now, as should you. Goodnight."

Rebecca downed the entire glass of water, even if it was improper. "Very well, goodnight," she then brushed past him and walked into her bedroom.

There Kelly was lying in bed, but she was not asleep. Rebecca could hear her gentle sobs. She sat on the bed next to her, "Kel, what's wrong?" She asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Nothing," Kelly whispered, "Just nothing. I'll be fine. Just go to bed."

Rebecca sighed, "You know I love you right?"

"Yea, I know, Becca. But don't worry about me. Just go to bed."

Rebecca crawled into bed and listened to her sister cry until she fell asleep.

--------------------

The next morning Rebecca woke to the bright sun on her face, she opened an eye and shut it quickly, trying to not go blind from the intense rays of light. "Rebecca get out of bed and get changed," she heard Mother say. She slowly sat up and looked where Mother was standing, behind her were piles of boxes.

"What are those?" she asked. "A new wardrobe, apparently after the accident Michael knew we would all be requiring new clothes and he bought a wardrobe for both you and Kelly. Now pick out something and get dressed," Mother answered.

Kelly got out of bed. It was another sleepless night. She sat up in bed, drew her knees in close to her body and rested her head there upon her knees.

Rebecca got out of bed and as she went to look through the boxes she glanced over at Kelly. "Would you like me to pick out your outfit?" she asked.

"Sure." She said shakily.

Rebecca picked out a gown and then found a nice mauve colored gown for Kelly. "Will this do?" she asked.

Kelly just nodded. She really didn't care what she wore anymore. Who did she have to impress?

Rebecca then carried the dress over to her and set it onto the bed. She then quickly dressed in her own gown and then assisted Kelly into hers.

Once she was dressed, she sat in front of the mirror. She carefully examined her features, noticing how they'd changed over the past few days. She had huge bags under her eyes, her skin looked sickly pale, and the brightness that used to be reflected in her eyes and her smile was gone, completely drained from her.

Mother came in. "Rebecca, you look fine." She smiled, and then she turned to Kelly, "Oh, you look awful."

"Mother..." Rebecca said.

Mother walked over towards Kelly and grabbed her hair harshly. She started to brush it quickly. "We can't have you looking like a mess, now can we? No, we need to do something with this hair of yours to make you look presentable for George."

Kelly didn't say a thing.

"George is coming here?" Rebecca asked, sounding annoyed.

"Yes, he and Mrs. Morley. We are going to discuss a few things."

"Like what?" Rebecca sighed.

"Mostly Kelly's wedding. And everything else that has been going on." Mother finished brushing Kelly's hair and was now tying it up as best as she could. "There. That's better. Now we just have to fix your face up. You look nearly dead."

"I could only wish..." Kelly whispered.

Rebecca sighed and pushed her mother out of the way, "Just go, I will help her."

Mother walked out, without saying a word.

"Sit down Kelly, I'll just put some makeup on your face," she said softly.

"Why?" Kelly asked, "Why do I need make-up? So I can become a fake again?"

"Kelly, what do you mean?"

"We've been forced to pretend we're perfect, since that is how society wishes it. But we're all just faking it... By covering up imperfections..." She lowered her head a bit, "Imperfections which Jim saw as beautiful..."

She thought back to that night on the Titanic when they had first slept together.

_Jim sat up and motioned for Kelly to come closer to him. He didn't stop staring at her. "What?" She asked. He didn't stop looking at her. _

_"You are so beautiful." He stated. Despite her brown hair being a mess, and some of her make-up had worn off._

"I know what you mean," Rebecca said softly, pulling Kelly from her memories. "But for now just try to bear it, I'll just add some rouge to your cheeks and something to cover up the bags under your eyes," she continued.

Kelly sighed, and let Rebecca continue fixing her face up.

Once she was finished Rebecca stood back to admire her work, "Pretty as a painting," she commented softly.

Kelly looked in the mirror and frowned. She looked normal again. It was like nothing had changed in the past week.

Rebecca tried to smile at her sister, "Come on we better get to breakfast."

Kelly stood up, held onto the chair for balance.

"Kel, are you alright?"

"Yea... I'm fine." She said in a nasty tone.

Rebecca slipped her hands into her sisters, ignoring the tone of Kelly's voice and helped her to keep steady as they walked out of the bedroom. On the other side, at the table by the window Mother was seated drinking a cup of tea, Michael was reading the paper with the headline

'TITANIC DISASTER! GREAT LOSS OF LIFE', before Kelly could see it Rebecca spoke up, "Michael would you mind closing that?" she asked with a point to the paper.

"It's alright, Rebecca." Kelly said softly, "I don't mind. Mr. Sullivan, please go on reading that for your own entertainment... I hope you enjoy it." She said sarcastically.

Rebecca sighed and sat Kelly down in a chair, she then sat down in between her sister and Michael and reached out for a slice of toast, she hadn't realized how hungry she actually was until she saw the food laid out on the table.

Kelly didn't touch the food. She stared down at her lap instead.

"Kelly," Mother half screeched, "Michael is not paying good money on good food for you to not eat it!"

"Well, I'm not exactly hungry right now."

"Do not be silly! You look like you have not eaten for days, now have some toast," Mother snapped as she began to butter the bread. "Mother," Rebecca began before taking a sip of her tea to wash down the toast in her mouth. "Will you leave her alone?

"Fine." Mother said coldly and went back to eating her breakfast.

Rebecca tried to smile at Kelly, but she knew her sister had not seen it. She continued to eat her breakfast, in silence.

Kelly just couldn't eat. She didn't want to.

Rebecca finished and then looked at Michael, "May I look at that?" she asked with a point to the paper.

"Oh, this? Sure." He handed it to her.

"This says they are starting a series of inquiries today at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, beginning at Ten am," Rebecca paused to look at the clock on the wall, nine-thirty, she then looked to Michael, "I should like to go, if it's not a problem. That way I might also give our invitation to Mr Lowe, if he is there," she said.

"Are you sure you'd want to go, Rebecca? It will be all about the sinking. Do you really want to be reminded of it all?" Michael asked.

"Yes, I can handle it and if it gets to be to much for me I will come back at once," she answered.

"Alright then." He said.

Rebecca smiled at him and since meeting the man it was the first real smile she had cracked, "Thank you," she then turned to Kelly, "I think I know the answer but you do not wish to go do you?"

Kelly was about to speak, but Mother interrupted, "Mrs. Morley and George are coming over in a while, and we have some talking and planning to do, so I suppose it'd be best for Kelly to stay here."

Rebecca sighed, "Very well, I'm just going to retrieve my coat," she stood up and walked into her bedroom, hanging up was the coat she had worn the night before, but there was also two new coats hanging up, she chose the black winter coat which went down to her feet but she supposed it was the latest fashion. She buttoned it up, put on a pair of gloves and a hat and then walked back into the living room. "I am ready."

Michael was ready too, "You look lovely, darling." he said, and kissed her cheek. This completely repulsed her, and she let out a fake laugh. "Let's go."

"I will see you in a little bit Kelly," she paused before walking out of the door with Michael, "Love you."

Rebecca walked down the hall with Michael, she was silent but her insides were racing, she needed to see Harold and feel the warmth of his arms around her. She looked to Michael as they walked into the lift, "Will you be staying for the hearing?"

"Yes, I can't just leave my beautiful, young fiancee alone there." Michael replied with a smile.

"Well the room will be filled with officials and officers who I know from the ship, you know no harm would come to me," she stated, hopeful.

"No, I think it'd be best for me to stay by you."

"Do you not have anything to attend to today? Only the Lord knows how long this thing may drag out, I do not wish to detain you from anything important you need to get to."

"I have nothing important at all. Just to spend the day with you."

Rebecca sighed and looked down at her feet, defeated for she could think of nothing else to try to get him to let her go on her own.

"So, dear, what does Mr. Lowe look like?" Michael inquired.

Rebecca glanced at Michael, "Why does it matter? You will be meeting him soon enough," she answered.

"Well, I was only wondering so that we can find him easily. But you should know him well enough. How old is he?"

"Twenty-nine," she answered.

"Oh, that'd make him a year younger than I am." Michael observed.

"Yes, yes he is," she said softly.

"From what I have heard he is a fine gentleman. I can't wait to meet him."

"He is a very good gentleman."

They exited the hotel and Michael got a cab for them to take to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

Rebecca looked out the window as she had done the night before, but with the sun high in the sky the city looked much more different view.

"Rebecca, are you alright?" Michael asked.

"What?" she asked, snapping back to reality.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded, maybe just a little to fast, "Yes I'm fine," she answered.

"I know you've been through a terrible tragedy, but it really is time to move on from it."

"Michael...I was not thinking about the sinking," she said simply.

"Oh, well still, I think it really is time to move on. Kelly too. I see your mother is fine now, and you should be too."

"Michael...it has only been four days...and we have lost our father. Plus that man I brought up last night, the Officer? They were very close."

"How close could Kelly possibly have gotten with a sailor?"

"Can we just please not talk about this now? James Moody was a good man and I am deeply saddened by his death,"

"Fine. I was only wondering. Was he a friend of Harold's?"

"Yes they were friends, the four of us were just a group of good friends on the ship," she answered.

"That's lovely. It sounds like you all had fun on the ship."

"You have no idea," she said with a nervous laugh.

"Not too much fun, I'd hope."

"No just enough that was required to keep from going insane with boredom."

"What did you all do together?"

"Had dinner, talked," she paused as she tried to remember, because really they had not hung out together just she would run off with Harold and Kelly would run off with Jim, but she was not going to say this to Michael. "Harold and Jim gave us a tour of the ship," she lied.

"That sounds very nice." he said, "Oh, we're here." They were right outside of the Waldorf-Astoria. "Thank you." He said and paid the driver. They got out of the car.

Rebecca walked around to the sidewalk and waited for Michael before walking in.

"Let's go." He said as he took her arm and led her inside.

--------------------

"Alright, now Mrs. Morley is coming over, and you are to be courteous and sweet and mind your manners completely. The woman is apparently a wreck right now, and we just need to have a lovely meeting to discuss your wedding plans. While George is here you will act like a perfect young lady, is this clear?" Mother lectured.

"Yes, ma'am." Kelly agreed softly.

There was a knock on the door. Mother opened it, "Oh, hello dear." She greeted Mrs. Morley.

"Good morning, Ellen. How are you?"

"I am doing alright, how are you holding up?"

"Better. But I still miss Albert so much."

"Aw, you poor thing. Please come right in." Mother stepped aside to let her enter the room. George was right behind his mother. "Hello George, it's good to see you."

"Likewise, Mrs. Hoffman." He replied back. Then he spotted Kelly. "Good morning, Kelly."

Kelly just stared at him.

"Well, how about you two go into the other room while Mrs. Morley and I talk about things." Mother said.

George and Kelly quietly walked into her bedroom. He sat down in a chair in the corner. "This place looks nice."

"Yea..." She replied quietly.

"So, how did you sleep last night?"

"Not at all."

"Oh... I'm sorry..." he stood up and sat next to her on the bed. "So I suppose they are discussing the wedding."

"Probably."

"Look, Kel, I know you are not at all thrilled about this arrangement."

"You should know that very well since I've made it extremely clear I do not wish to be married to you." She said harshly.

"I don't think you have a choice in the matter. Neither do I."

"If you had your say, you would still go along with this. And if I had my say, we'd never have to even see each other for as long as we live."

"There is nothing that can be done about this, so we'll just have to live with each other, and be content."

"I will never be content."

"Then at least pretend to be happy. You're job is to marry me, be loyal to me, bear my children, and be beautiful."

"And in that I should be content? Let me tell you, no woman could ever be happy living a life like that, controlled by their husband. It's a life without meaning."

"Our lives will have plenty of meaning. There is a reason we both survived."

"So that means there is a reason Jim did not?" Kelly asked angrily.

"Yes. He wasn't meant to survive. He was just there to help you out, and now he's gone because he is no longer needed.

"How dare you say that!" Kelly yelled, "I loved him."

"That was only a tiny romance, if you could even call it that. It never would have lasted."

Kelly stared won at her hands that were folded in her lap. "Yes, it would have. We had something special between us. Unless me and you. We have nothing. But Jim and I had something amazing. Whenever I was around him, I felt like I was finally able to quit pretending about who I was, and like I was able to be then real me, the real Kelly I've been forced to hide all this time. That is love. When you can make someone feel like a person better than themself, when you can kiss them and make their lips tingle for hours, when you can make someone feel safe from anything whenever they are in your arms, and when you would actually give up your own life for the one you love. But I doubt you would understand any of that."

"But I love you." he said and put his arms around her tightly.

"Get off of me." She said tensely. He didn't let go. "I said get off of me! Let go!"

"I am just trying to show you some affection."

"Well, I don't want any affection from you. I don't love you."

"You should love me. What is wrong with me?"

"Sometimes you can be the nicest person, and sometimes you can be the worst. Whenever you can't get what you want, you get insane. You never take no for an answer, do you?"

"No, I don't." He said angrily. He still had his arms around her tightly.

"Let go!"

"No!"

"George... please, just let go."

"I can't."

"Why not!?"

"Because you'll leave."

"I won't leave. I can't. I am not allowed to. Now please let go of me."

George stopped holding on to her.

Kelly sighed. At that moment, Mother knocked on the door. "We would like to include you both in our conversation now."

They got up and walked into the other room and say down at the table with Mother and Mrs. Morley. "We've decided we want you both married as soon as possible."

"And how soon would that be?" George asked.

"Next month. Some time in the middle of May."

"That sounds fine." George said, "Right, sweetheart?" He looked at Kelly who was next to him.

"Yea..." She said softly, "Sounds lovely..."

"Good. That's settled. A wedding in May." Mrs. Morley said happily.

The rest of the plans were being discussed. Kelly just sat there listening, and there was nothing she could possibly do about it.

--------------------

**Heyy. Sorry for the wait. But here is chapter 18. The story will become more intense soon. Trust me. Please, read and review. I have to get some chocolate milk now, lol. So I will just post this now. Thanks for reading. Chapter 19 will be up as soon as possible.**


	19. Lunch

**_Titanic- Come What May_**

**_Chapter 19- Lunch_**

Rebecca walked in, the lobby was crowded with people that she thought looked familiar. Then standing over by a vase was Mrs. Brown talking to Colonel Gracie. "Mrs. Brown!" she said smiling.

"Well, hello there, darlin'. How've you been doin' lately?" Molly Brown greeted cheerfully.

Rebecca walked over to the woman, almost pulling away from Michael. "I have been doing alright, I read about the trials in the paper this morning and I felt it my duty to come," she replied.

"That's nice, dear. So is this your fiancee?" Molly asked, pointing at Michael.

"Oh yes forgive me, this is my fiancee Michael Sullivan," she replied.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Sullivan," Molly shook his hand, "Where is it that you are from?"

"Virginia ma'am," he answered politely.

"I think I've met your folks, son. Your father is in law, right?"

"They are sweet folks."

Rebecca was bored with the small chat, "Mrs. Brown I just thought of something," she said suddenly.

"What's that?"

"Well Michael insists that it wouldn't be a bother, but I can not help but feel that him staying here all day would be a bore and keep him from important work. But since you're here I was thinking maybe I could be in your care for the day," she said slowly, pleading the woman before her with her eyes.

"Oh that sounds fine. It ain't a problem with you, Mr. Sullivan, is it?"

"Oh well I would not want to bother you Mrs. Brown," Michael said.

"It wouldn't trouble me none. Don't you worry. I'll take good care of your lady."

"Well if you are absolutely sure," he replied slowly.

"Of course I'm sure."

"Very well," Michael turned to Rebecca, "If you are sure this is alright, then I will go ahead. I did have a meeting at the bank. You can call me from the concierge desk when the trials are over," he said.

"Yes I'm fine, I will call you the minute the trials let out. But who knows how long they will take. So..." she trailed off.

"Right well I will see you this afternoon," he said. Michael gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you again Mrs Brown," he said before leaving the lobby.

"So... he seems like a fine gentleman." Molly said.

Rebecca looked at her, "Yes."

She was silent for a moment, "Have you seen Officer Lowe?"

"Why no, dear, I haven't. Although I suppose he must be around here somewhere."

Rebecca looked around, "I am just going to see if I can find him. I will meet you inside," she replied with a nod to the room which was starting to fill.

Molly smiled, "I knew it..."

"Knew what?" Rebecca asked.

"You and Officer Lowe had something going on."

"That's an impossible thought! I'm engaged Molly!" she cried.

"Alright, I'm sorry. It's just it seemed like something was going on between you and Mr. Lowe. On the ship you two looked so comfortable together. I thought it was rather sweet."

Rebecca let out a sigh, not wanting to lie anymore. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course I can keep a secret, darlin'. Trust me, there are many things that those other old broads on that ship told me that I haven't told no one."

"Well, it didn't take a detective to figure that out, sweetie. Anyone with common sense could see there had to have been somethin' going on. Good for you."

"But I am stuck now, my mother is insistent that I marry Michael and I just can not stand that man."

"So don't marry him."

"I can't, I've tried everything and I can not see a way to get out of it."

"There is always a way. And you are an intelligent young lady. You can find a way. I know you can."

Rebecca sighed, "I can only pray...anyways I'm going to find Harold. Thank you for at least listening," she then turned around and began to search through the crowds of people that were going into the room where the trials were going to be held.

Then finally she saw him, standing by the concierge's desk talking to another officer. She walked up to him with a smile, "Hello Mr. Lowe," she said softly.

His eyes lit up. "Hello Ms. Hoffman."

"May I speak with you...in private?"

"Sure." he said with a large grin and they walked off together and found a small conference room.

Once inside, Harold grabbed Rebecca's waist and lifted her up. She giggled. He swung her around and finally put her down. He placed a small kiss on her cheek.

"Oh I've missed you," she said before pulling his lips to hers.

"Oh, I've missed you more." he said as he pulled back for a second, but then went back to kissing.

She continued on for a moment and then pulled apart, "I...I'm so thankful you were here. But there is something I need to talk to you about," she said.

"Alright, what is it?"

"Last night I was in the kitchen of our hotel room and Michael came in. We were talking and he wants to meet you...on Saturday for lunch."

"Your fiancee wants to meet me?" Harold asked, shocked.

"Yes...if you think it would be to awkward then you do not have to. I mean it's going to be awkward for me, having lunch with the man I love and the man I'm supposed to love..." she trailed off.

"It will be hard for me too. Hard to control myself from lunging across the table to kissing you."

Rebecca giggled, "Well you are going to have to control yourself and I will have to control myself from strangling Michael so we can run away."

"You and I running away. Getting married. Living our lives together for the rest of our lives... It sounds beautiful. Just you and me. No interruptions." He said, smiling, and he kissed her forehead softly.

"I would give anything for that...but...you know Harold...I can not leave Kelly in the state she's in. I can not let her marry George Morley," she said softly.

"How is she doing?" Harold asked.

"Not well at all. She won't eat. She hasn't been sleeping. She looks so dead inside. She doesn't talk much anymore. She doesn't smile, she doesn't laugh. it's not her anymore..."

"Oh, that's not good at all." Harold held her close.

"Well I should suppose we will worry about that later, but I think we need to be getting inside to the inquiries," she said.

"Yes they might be closing the doors soon," Harold said with a glance at his pocket watch.

Rebecca smiled and briefly kissed him, she then walked out of the room and walked across the hall to the room which was quickly filling up with people. Officers, men, and women she all recognized from the ship. "I am going to have to sit with Molly Brown, I'm her responsibility right now," Rebecca said just loud enough for Harold to hear as she scanned the crowd looking for Molly.

"Alright, love." He said, "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," she said with a quick glance at him and a warm smile. "See you in a bit," she kissed her fingers and placed them to his cheek and then she went up into the seats and sat beside Molly.

Harold took his seat with the other Officers and waited as Senator Smith took to the stand. Rebecca looked around as then Bruce Ismay was brought to the stand and he was sworn in. "Mr. Ismay, for the purpose of simplifying this hearing I will ask you a few preliminary questions. First state your full name, please?" Senator Smith said once Bruce was sitting down.

"Joseph Bruce Ismay," he answered stiffly.

"And your place of residence?" the Senator asked.

"Liverpool."

"And your age?"

"I shall be 50 on the 12th of December."

"And your occupation?"

"Ship owner."

"Are you an officer of the White Star Line?"

"I am."

"In what capacity?"

"Managing Director."

Rebecca looked to Molly, "The questions are going to be this dull the entire time?" she asked in a soft whisper.

"Well darlin' I think they just have to ask the questions that everyone knows the answers to, just for the record," Molly whispered back.

"Oh," Rebecca looked down for a moment and then back up across the room to where Harold was sitting.

She waved and smiled at him, Harold smiled back.

Molly eyed the two out of the corner of her eye, "My that girl looks happy," she thought

"Can't you two run away?" Molly whispered as she leaned in closer to Rebecca.

Rebecca's head turned sharply towards the woman sitting beside her.

"I do not know," she said.

"Well he loves you right?"

Rebecca nodded.

"And you love him?"

She nodded again.

"Well then just rendevous and go for it. Run where ever the wind takes you," Molly whispered with a kind smile.

"I can not leave my sister though."

"Is she in the same predicament as you? Engaged to that...George was it?"

"Yes," Rebecca replied with a sigh.

"She in love with someone else?"

"Well, yes."

"Then the four of you can meet and run wherever the wind takes you," Molly said simply.

"It's not that simple... she fell in love with Officer Moody and well... he did not make it,"

Rebecca explained, still whispering.

"Oh I'm so sorry," Molly whispered.

Rebecca nodded as she looked back to the trial occurring before her.

A few hours later Senator Smith stood up, "That concludes the morning's hearing, we shall continue tonight and then in the morning with, Harold Cottam and Harold Bride," he said.

After that the crowd began to file out of the room.

Rebecca looked at Molly, "I am just going to say a quick goodbye to Harold and then I will call Michael," she said.

"Take your time darlin," Molly replied with a smile.

Rebecca left her seat and walked across the room where Harold was standing, they walked out of the room and into the same empty conference room from earlier.

Harold swooped down and gave her a kiss.

"You looked beautiful sitting there, were you really that interested in the trials?" he asked with a smile.

"Well I was rather distracted, by this very handsome officer. He kept stairing at me and I just could not tear my gaze away. After all...I have always been a sucker for a man in uniform," she answered with a giggle.

Harold kissed her on the lips again.

"Molly Brown thinks we should run away," Rebecca said once they had pulled apart.

"Molly knows?" Harold inquired, nerves setting in.

"She figured it out, but I know I can trust her," she explained quickly.

"Are you sure?"

Rebecca nodded, "Yes of course," she replied.

They were both silent as Rebecca then wrapped her arms around him and listened to the sound of his heart beating.

Harold wrapped his arms around her, engulfing her in the warmth. Oh she was going to miss this. Then as much as she hated it she looked at Harold's watch.

"I have to call Michael," she said sadly.

"Oh, really, must you?" Harold asked, sounding sad.

"Well Michael will be waiting for my call," she answered.

"Can't you just stay a little bit longer?" He pleaded.

"Just give me moment, I will tell Molly, she is my chaperone. She promised Michael she would watch after me," she said a grin tearing at her face.

"Alright."

Rebecca walked out of the room and back into the room where Molly was still sitting. "You can go, I am going to stay just a little bit longer with Harold," she said.

"Okay, darlin'. Just don't do anythin' I wouldn't do." She laughed.

Rebecca laughed politely, "If only she knew," she muttered before heading to walk back out of the room.

Harold saw Rebecca coming back. He smiled, "So, what now?" he asked.

"I do not know, what do you want to do?" she asked with a smile.

"I'm not sure if there is enough time to do what I'd like to do." Harold grinned.

Rebecca giggled, "Well...if we made it quick..." she trailed off.

"Alright." He said excitedly and grabbed her hand. He led her up the stairs to his room. He closed to door behind him and she giggled.

"I've so missed being able to be alone with you." Rebecca said.

He pressed his lips to her's. "And I can't take being away from you another minute." he picked her up and brought her over to the bed and laid her down on there, he was beside her.

"We don't- have much- time." She stated between kisses.

They stripped off their clothing quickly. He kissed her all over, making her body quiver. He touched her in a way that made a warm sensation travel through her. They held each other closely, their feet were tangled in a mess of white sheets.

When they finished up as quickly as possible, they laid in each other's arms for a moment, breathing heavily. "I love you, Harold." She said, staring into his eyes, and resting safely in his arms.

"I love you too." He moved his head down and kissed the tip of her nose.

"I don't want to leave you again."

"Then don't."

"Harold, we've discussed this already. I cannot leave Kelly."

"We'll run away and take her with us. I will not let you marry that other man, and I won't let you stay here. You belong safely with me."

"It sounds great. But where would we go?"

"Wherever. Anywhere you'd like. It doesn't matter to me, as long as I have you." He smiled.

"That sounds amazing..." She smiled back at him. "But I should be going now. I need to get back home. It's getting late and everyone must be worried I've been kidnaped or something."

She got up, and he helped her get dressed. In the doorway, she kissed him softly, "I'll see you soon. You can count on it." and she left him standing there.

Rebecca went down to the lobby and was alarmed to see that it had gotten dark, she went to the concierge's desk, "Excuse me sir, may I use your phone?"

"Sure, miss." He handed her the phone.

Rebecca took the phone off the hook and was soon connected to the hotel she was staying at, "Yes could I please have room three-fourteen?" she asked the concierge.

"Of course miss, one moment please," the man on the other end said back. The phone began to ring and she waited for someone in their room to answer.

"Kelly, will you get that!?" Mother yelled as the phone in the hotel room kept ringing.

Kelly didn't move. She didn't even acknowledge the ringing.

"You are useless!" Mother yelled and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Mother? It's Rebecca, is Michael there? The trials took longer than expected but they are finally out. I need him to come and pick me up," she said into the speaker.

"Oh yes, of course dear. Hold on a moment." Mother said.

She got Michael and handed him the phone. "Hello? Rebecca?"

"Hello Michael, the trials have only just let out. I did not expect them to take so long, but they are out and now I just need a ride home,"

"Alright, I'll be right there. Just wondering, Where is Mrs. Brown?"

"Oh well she apologized but she had to run, a family emergency that required her to wire some money to her..cousin up north in Massachusetts. So I sat with the fine men who worked on the ship and they took care of me," she answered.

"I will be there as soon as possible."

"Alright I will just wait here in the lobby."

They hung up the phone, and Rebecca waited in the lobby.

Michael arrived at the hotel, "Rebecca." he said as he say her. She turned towards him, and her smile from all the memories from before faded and was replaced by a frown, "Oh, hello Michael."  
"We should get going. No need to wait around. It's late." He said quickly and led her to the cab. Rebecca climbed in the car and looked out the window, not daring to look her fiancee in the face. "Dear, is something the matter? Did the inquiries bring back bad memories?" He asked worriedly.

"No it was fine...it was very interesting," she answered quickly, "Oh and Mr. Lowe said he would like to meet for lunch on Saturday."

"Lovely." He replied. They arrived at their own hotel.

Rebecca stepped out and went in ahead to the hotel. She approached the lift and waited for Michael.

They both rode up in silence, and entered the hotel room.

"Hello mother, hello Kelly," she said a smile caressing her features as she remembered what she and Harold had done once more.

"Rebecca, are you alright, you were out so long." Mother said.

"I know mother, I am sorry. I was not expecting the trials to take so long," she lied.

"Well, at least you are home now. And it's late, you should probably go to bed. You don't want bags under your eyes in the morning."

"Yes mother," she said before going into her bedroom.

Kelly walked in after her and laid down on her bed quietly.

"How are you feeling Kelly?" she asked as she changed.

"Fine." Kelly lied.

"How did the visit with George go?"

"He's insane. And a jerk." Kelly said angrily, and then her voice turned sad, "And I do not want to marry that man."

Rebecca sat down on the bed beside Kelly, "You do not have to, just like I am not going to marry Michael," she said in a whisper.

"Well, as of May 26th, I will be Mrs. George Morley. Trapped in a house with him, forced to endure pain, bear his children, and obey his every word... I don't want that life..."

"We are going to run away," she said simply.

"There is no point. Running away won't work. They'll find us. Mother always gets her way. You and Harold can try to run off and have a lovely life, but there is no hope for me. Either I marry George and be miserable, or I attempt running away and be alone and miserable. There is no sense in it. At least with Jim he made a better life seem possible..." Kelly was crying again.

Rebecca sat down beside Kelly and pulled her into an embrace. "Kelly I won't leave you alone here," she said.

"Just because I have no hope, doesn't mean you should stay here. Don't let me hold you back..."

"Harold does not want to leave you here alone either," she said softly.

"I will not be the reason for you ruining your life either. Go with Harold. Do what you want. But I have to stay here. I have no choice."

"Yes you do have a choice! You won't ruin our life, my life would be ruined if I did not have you,"

"What good am I to your life?"

"You are my sister, the only family I have left. I can not lose you!"

"You have family. You have your mother. I do not. I have nothing."

"She's not my mother, not the mother I once thought she was. I could care less about what happens to her, you and Harold are all I have and I could never imagine losing you."

"You already have lost me." Kelly said softly.

Rebecca let barely a sob escape her lips, "I know it's hard Kelly but I know Jim would want you to go on," she whispered.

"He was my will to go on. Now he's gone. And so am I. I cannot live like this now."

"Can you try? I barely knew the man but I know he would want you to try to get through the day. Live in his honor, survive for him."

"I'd rather be dead." Kelly said grimly, moving away from Rebecca and standing up.

Rebecca stood up and then sat back down on her own bed, "Just try to sleep..." she said softly, not knowing what else to say.

"I can't sleep." She sighed, "Every time I close my eyes I see it all again, playing on the inside of my mind. It won't go away. And what's even worse is the noises. The screaming, the begging, the pleading..."

"They haunt my dreams too...the one thing that I will never forget is when I saw that baby in the water...frozen in her mothers arms...who just looked terrified..." she trailed off.

"I saw it all. I saw people freeze to death before my eyes. I heard their last requests for rescue." her eyes were filling with tears again, "And there wasn't a damn thing I could do to help them."

"We tried...really we did. I wanted so much to get back to wreckage the minute we were sure the boat wouldn't be sucked down. But we couldn't, everyone was terrified of the boat being swamped.

Then even afterwards when so few people were crying for help, someone insisted we not go back," she laughed slightly as she wiped a tear from her eye, "I threatened to throw the person in the water to see how much he liked the cold water."

"That water was so freezing. You can't even imagine. It was like being stabbed all over. People were dying within minutes."

"I can try to imagine it..." she whispered.

"No, you can't even imagine it. It was so terrible. Nothing can compare to the pain. The pain of being in that water, and the pain of losing the most important person in the world to you!"

"I know..."

"No, Rebecca, you don't know. I hate when you try to understand, but you just can't. I lost someone I cared so much about. You still have Harold. Your fiancee has never hurt you, or raped you, has he? No. You still have a mother. Last time I checked, I don't. You're my only living relative left. How is that your life can be so simple and perfect, and mine can be so painful like this? Why?"

"My life isn't perfect!" Rebecca cried. "Yes I have Harold, but I do know about pain! I did loose my father after all!" She lowered her voice, "Our father, you act like I have lost nobody in this! I lost father and I have lost you. You said it yourself, and you know I hate mother! I want nothing to do with her and her stupid first class laws. My life is no where near perfect!"

"It's a hell of a lot better than my mess of a life."

"That's why we are going to take you with us when we go! Because I am not leaving you behind so you can marry that scum and poor excuse for a man. Harold and I are not letting that happen to you! We feel we both owe it to Jim to take care of you."

"I can take care of myself. I'll stay here. It's my duty to stay here. I will not allow myself to become a burden to you and Harold. I'm worthless and incompetent and I should stay here, marry George as told, no matter how much I loathe him, and just live a life of childbearing, obedience, and abuse, which is really no life at all. But it's my only choice."

"It is not your only choice! And you would not be a burden to us! We both care and love you, why can't you understand this?!"

"Because I can't understand why anyone would want me dragging along."

"Because we love you!"

"I used to think love was possible. But it never lasts long. It's like a flame. It can burn so intensely for a while, and then all so suddenly go out."

Rebecca stood up, "I will never stop loving you. No matter what you think, and Jim has not stopped loving you! He's just loving you from heaven."

"He should be here! He should be with me! I need him, and now he's gone!" Kelly cried.

"I know Kelly! It's not fair, I know that it isn't fair! But you have to try to go on for his sake! So he did not die in vain!" Rebecca cried back.

Kelly began to feel dizzy and faint, "I've had enough of this, I'd like to go to bed now." She said, sounding sick.

"Fine, I will see you in the morning," Rebecca turned around and crawled into bed.

Kelly laid down in her bed and drew her knees close to her body. She tried to make herself as small as possibly. Then she started to cry again.

Rebecca blocked out the sounds, not being able to stand it because with each sob her heart broke just a little bit more. She fell asleep about five minutes later.

--

The next afternoon Rebecca stood in front of the full size mirror in the bedroom. She quickly looked over her appearance, making sure she looked lovely for the luncheon. She and Michael were going to be heading to the restaurant in mere minutes to meet Harold. The only thing she was looking forward to was seeing Harold, and least looking forward to the meeting of Michael Sullivan and Harold Lowe. She then placed her hat on, put her gloves on and coat and then walked out of the room to parlor where Michael was waiting.

"Oh Rebecca, you look lovely." he said as she walked in.

"Thank you Michael," she said, lying.

"Well, we'd better get going." he said and stared at his watch.

Rebecca tried to hide her eagerness and headed for the door. "See you in a little bit mother," Rebecca said, smug at her mother's sourness and attempt to not shout that she was convinced that Rebecca and Harold were having an affair.

Then they left and got into the car.

Rebecca looked out the window as she always did, enjoying the sights and sounds of New York.

The car pulled up to the restaurant a moment later, Rebecca stepped out and reluctantly took Michael's offered arm.

"Did you tell Mr. Lowe where to meet us??" Michael asked??

"Yes, he might be inside," she answered.

"Lovely. Let's go find him." he said and led her inside.

Rebecca walked into the restaurant and spotted Harold a moment later, she waved. "There he is," she said, excitement getting the better of her.

They walked towards him. "Hello, Mr. Lowe." Michael said and shook his hand.

Harold stood up and shook his hand, "It's nice to meet you Mr. Sullivan," he lied.

They all sat down at the table.

Rebecca smiled across the table at Harold which went unnoticed by Michael.

Harold looked at Michael and then back at Rebecca with a 'are you serious? you poor thing' look.

"So Mr. Lowe, how long have you been in the sea business?" Michael asked.

"Since I was 14, sir."

"Ah, and what is it about that occupation that interested you to go for that career?"

"I really liked the idea that I was just able to hop on a ship and get as far away from my father as possible." Harold joked. "That, and I love the sea."

Rebecca smiled at Harold. "What was wrong with your father?" Michael inquired with intrest.

"Well he wanted me to work with him as an apprentice, but I told him I wasn't going to work for no money."

Michael smiled. "So you decided to take a job that would pay? Good move. Money is life."

Rebecca looked at Michael in disgust.

"Well money helps in life, but with no dis respect meant but it's not life. I do want to eventually settle down and raise a family," Harold and Rebecca shared a glance that went unnoticed by Michael.

"Well, without money how do you suppose we'll care for all of the babies we're going to have?"

Rebecca choked a bit on her water and spit it back into her glass. She looked from Harold to Michael, "Pardon?"

"Well we are getting married. And we are going to have children. I was thinking we'd have a lot. Mostly boys who can grow up to be big strong men and take over the business for me, and a few girls to be ladylike or whatever."

"Well Michael I do not think we are going to have a lot of say as to weather or not we have girls or boys."

"Well we can hope for boys."

"Suppose..." she trailed off and stared down at her water glass.

"And I was thinking how about Martin for a boy. Named for my father. And maybe Prudence for a girl. What do you think, dear?" he asked.

Rebecca's eyes flicked to Harold, " I don't know, Mr. Lowe what do you think of that name?"

Harold looked nervous. "Uh... well, I think it's lovely. Prudence Sullivan. That will certainly be a lucky little girl." He stared at Rebecca.

"I do not know, I am not quite fond of it..." she said, not tearing her own eyes from the man across from her.

"Oh never mind. It's a while in the future. Perhaps next year when we have children we can discuss names then."

"Yes, it is a fair while into the future," she said in a voice just above a murmur.

"I am sure your children will be very lovely," Harold said with a smile which was directed for Rebecca who stifled a giggle. "Well who could ever doubt it? Rebecca is a beautiful girl and I am very debonair...if I do say so myself," Michael replied with a smug smile.

"Behave," Rebecca mouthed as she kicked his foot lightly. Harold smiled.

"Mr. Lowe, I would like to thank you for looking out for my fiancé for me on the ship." Michael said.

"It was my pleasure," Harold said, a smile on his face. Rebecca kicked him lightly again.

"Mr. Lowe was gentleman the whole time I knew him on this ship. And I am very grateful to have met him." Rebecca smiled.

"I would love to hear some stories about the ship, if you don't mind, Mr. Lowe." Michael said.

"Oh there is nothing really to tell about the ship. I did my job, helped around where I was needed...fetched tea for the Captain." Rebecca let out a giggle, Harold smiled and then went on, "And when I was off shift I was either sleeping or Jim and I would be showing Kelly and Rebecca around."

"That was very kind of you." Michael stated.

"It was no problem Michael," Harold said simply.

"Any interesting stories to share?"

"Nothing really..." Rebecca said.

"What was the ship like?"

"She was grand, amazing, beautiful...I'm running out of adjectives," Harold said with a smile.

"What about the sinking?"

"I do not want to talk about that," Rebecca said.

Harold nodded, seeing the pain in her eyes. "You must understand it was a traumatic event and Rebecca has just lost her father. Then when we went back for survivors...there was all of the people who could not hold on, and Kelly was nearly frozen to death. Jim was close by and he couldn't hold on. I did not even think Kelly would make it till a ship came for help. You just have to understand why we do not want to discuss it," he said.

"Oh, alright. I'm sorry for bringing up such a sensitive topic. I was just curious about the infamous sinking of the Titanic. It all sounds so exciting so I thought you'd be able to give me a good account of that night."

Rebecca looked at the man she was supposed to love, "Michael it was not exciting. It was terrifying, if I so wished I could give you an account of the night. But I do not want to discuss it, my father died. Good men and women died, children...innocent children died!"

She bit back a sob as the image of the mother with her baby flashed into her mind, "You don't understand! It was horrific and something I will never discuss!" she snapped.

"I apologize. I can see you do not wish to discuss it. Let's just order our food now, shall we?" He said. "Waiter" he called over a tall man in a uniform who seemed to work there.

As Michael placed his order Rebecca and Harold made eye contact, 'You have to get me out of this,' she mouthed.

Harold shrugged.

The waiter then looked to Harold, "And for you sir?" he asked. "Oh I will have the chicken with garlic sauce over pasta," he said. Rebecca scanned the menu quickly, "I will have the same," she said. "Very well, your food will be out soon," the waiter said.

"Mr. Lowe, where is it that you're from?" Michael asked.

"Wales," Harold said.

"I thought so." Michael said.

"Yes," he said.

"I come from Virginia." Michael said.

"Yes Rebecca was telling me that."

Harold then turned his gaze to Rebecca, "How is Kelly feeling today?" he asked.

Rebecca sighed, "Same as ever, empty...silent...she won't eat," she answered simply.

"She doesn't seem to be doing too well." Michael said.

"I wish there was something I could do. She'll have to get better soon..."

"And Rebecca, your sister could barely get out of bed this morning. Is she always this lazy and apathetic? Really, she has to get over whatever trauma she suffered on the ship. How could a crew member possibly have been so important to her that she'd fall apart like this? It's absurd. You must do something, because it's becoming quite irritating to see her moping around like this."

Harold's hand twisted into a ball, Rebecca could see the anger on his face but shook her head, pleading with him to not do anything stupid.

"Michael...you need to understand...he was her best friend...I just...can we not talk about it right now?" Rebecca said quickly.

"It's just strange. She only knew this guy for a few days and she's falling apart over him. Something tells me there was more going on. Shouldn't she be more torn up over her father? I'm just curious to know everything that happened on the ship."

Rebecca looked at Harold then to Michael, "They fell in love, alright?" she said before taking a sip of water.

"Um, excuse me?" Michael said, not believing her.

"They fell in love!" Rebecca cried.

"But isn't your sister engaged to George Morley?"

"She was engaged to him against her own will and after she had already fallen in love with Jim," Harold spoke up.

"But she should have broken off anything she had with this man if she had just gotten engaged."

"Michael...Jim proposed to her too," Rebecca said with a sigh.

"Was this before or after she became engaged to George?"

"Does that matter? All that matters to me and to her is that she fell in love with Jim before George became her fiancee,"

Michael took a sip of his water, "It seems there are some fascinating stories from the Titanic that I didn't know. I was only curious to know what happened."

"Yes there was," Rebecca said softly, just as she briefly made eye contact with Harold.

Kelly was still in bed. "Kelly Ann! Wake up this instant!" Mother screeched.

She rolled over onto her side in bed and slowly opened her eyes. She didn't move.

"Kelly! Wake up!" Mother yelled again, her voice starting to become hoarse.

She ran into the room and tore off the blankets. She pulled Kelly out of bed. "What is wrong with you? Sleeping this late isn't good for you, nor is it ladylike."

"Sorry, Mother," She replied softly, "I've just be very tired lately."

"Why? Are you sick?" Mother asked rudely, feeling her forehead.

Kelly stepped back, "I don't think so. I'm just exhausted. I've been through a lot. I've been through things you'll never understand."

"Just get ready for the day." Mother said and walked out of the room.

Kelly dressed herself in a black dress and walked out of her room. "Happy now, mother?" she said irritably.

"Kelly, that dress is supposed to be for your father's memorial service we'll be holding next month. Go back and hang it up."

Kelly groaned and went back. She changed into a peach afternoon dress, put her hair back in a clip. Then she looked in the mirror, placing her head in her hands and crying a bit.

Mother walked in. "George is coming over again. So please try to pull yourself together."

"Why is he coming over again?"

"He's going to come over everyday and spend some time with you. Fortunately you're engaged to a man who actually cares about your well-being."

"George cares about my well-being? Hah, that's the last thing he cares about. He only wants to make himself happy. He doesn't care what I want."

"He wants to help you get over that awful sailor and forget the sinking."

"You think it's just that easy to get over it and forget? Mother, I lost the man I loved! And I love my father, your husband. Shouldn't you care more about this too!?"

Mother said nothing.

"I can't believe you. You've been married to this man for years, and you don't give a damn about him or the fact that he's dead!"

"I do care." Mother replied. They stared at each other tensely. "Look presentable. George will be here soon."

Kelly sighed and looked back into the mirror at her reflection. She took out the hair clip and shook her hair so that it rested on her shoulders again.

--

Rebecca stood up with her clutch in hand as then Michael came over with her coat which he helped her to put on. Once they were ready, the trio headed towards the door.

Once outside on the sidewalk, the car was waiting. "Mr. Lowe, it was a pleasure to meet you. I hope your lunch was enjoyable." Michael stated.

Harold nodded, "Indeed I did, thank you for this. I have enjoyed myself very much," he said with a glance at Rebecca, who merely smiled at him.

"Good." Michael said, "well, I do hope to see you again sometime. Perhaps at the wedding?"

"Yes, I'm going to try to," he said.

"I hope we'll see you there." he looked at his watch, "now we really should get going. Goodbye, Mr. Lowe."

Rebecca nodded, "Goodbye Mr. Lowe, thank you again for your company," she said.

"See you around, Ms. Hoffman." Harold said sweetly to her and smiled.

Michael held her hand as she entered the car. Then he also entered, glancing at Harold once and closing the door.

Rebecca looked out the back window at Harold as he stood alone on the sidewalk, watching as the automobile drove away.

"Rebecca, that friend of yours, Mr. Lowe, seems like a nice man..." Michael said.

"Yes he is," Rebecca said softly.

"It's nice how you have made a friend who you can discuss the sinking with... but why won't you talk to me about it. I feel like you and Mr. Lowe share a bond and the truth is if I am to be your husband, you should share things with me too."

"He understands, Michael... He endured the same things I did. He dealt with things that you will never understand."

"But I'd like to understand. You just won't tell me anything. How am I supposed to know anything if you won't open up to me?"

"I do not wish to talk about this right now."

"Sweetie," he called her, which caused Rebecca to cringe for a moment, "I just want to know. I want to know how you felt, and how you acted, and what happened. I just want to hear your story."

"Why? Why do I have to talk about one of the most horrific nights of my life? One of the nights that will haunt me until I die, even if I told you, you'd never be able to understand and imagine. Listening for hours to the sounds of peoples cries for help, until the sounds became softer and fainter, until no one was crying any longer," Rebecca paused as she looked out the window, tears rolling down her face now.

He placed his hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry. It's just I want to understand the woman I am to be marrying in less than two weeks. I just want to know you."

"I understand Michael...but that's not something that you need to know, to know me."

"Fine." he said, and placed his head against the window. they sat in complete silence until they returned back to the hotel.

--

**SO SORRY FOR NOT POSTING IN LIKE, SO LONG! LIFE HAS GOTTEN CRAZY AND BUSY AND WE'VE TAKEN A WHILE, AND WE'RE APOLOGIE WHOLEHEARTEDLY PLEASE FORGIVE US! PWETTY PWEASE! okay, enough of the crazy capital letters. lol. umm... we're very sorry, and please know we haven't abandoned this story at all. we have many interesting ideas planned for it. haha. and we hope you'll stick with us. please review. thanks. chapter 20 will be out as soon as we can write it.**


	20. Dread

_**Titanic- Come What May**_

_**Chapter 20- Dread**_

More than a week went by and not much changed. Kelly was still an emotional wreck. She hardly spoke to anyone except Rebecca, and she was hardly eating. She still seemed so pale and lifeless, She was feeling ill all the time. George had visited her everyday, trying in vain to cheer her up and get closer to her.

Rebecca hadn't been able to be with Harold in a week. Michael and Mother hadn't let her out of their sight all week. She had gone back to the inquiries a lot, but Michael stayed with her and never left her side.

Kelly and Rebecca were sitting in there room getting ready for the day.

Rebecca was trying to pick out an outfit while Kelly brushed her hair.

"So, is George coming over again today?" Rebecca asked.

Kelly nodded, "He always comes over..."

"I don't like him..."

"Join the club." Kelly stated irritably.

Rebecca pulled a violet dress out of the closet and held it up, "How about this?"

"It looks fine..." Kelly said emotionlessly, staring at the ground.

"Kel, how about we go into the other room and eat something, you'll feel better."

Kelly didn't answer.

"Come on, you have to eat something. You look sick."

Kelly was silent for a moment, until suddenly she stated sickly, "I think I'm going to be sick!" and ran out of the room, into the bathroom.

Rebecca watched and nearly jumped as the door slammed shut, she then carried the dress with her to the mirror and held it up in front of herself. "This will do then," she said before calling in a Maid to help her into the gown.

Kelly walked out of the bathroom, still feeling sick. She laid on her bed and curled into a little ball.

"Kel?" Rebecca asked worriedly, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." she replied while at the same time trying to hold down more vomit.

"I think I should call in a doctor," Rebecca stated as she grimaced at the pain of being tied into her corset.

"No, I'm alright. Just feeling a little sick, that's all..." she replied quickly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." she stood up, but suddenly felt very tired and dizzy and nearly fell. She held onto a chair for balance, "I'm alright..."

"Would you like some water?"

"Yes." she answered, laying down again.

Rebecca then walked over to her night table which had the pitcher of water that Mother had threatened to use to wake them up, she poured a cup of the ice cold water and took it over to Kelly. She sat down beside her sister and handed it to her, "Here you go."

"Thank you." Kelly took it and drank it quickly.

Mother walked into the room. "Kelly! Get up right now and get ready for the day!" she yelled angrily, grabbing her daughter by the wrist and pulling her up quickly.

"Mother! She just threw up! Let her collect herself!" Rebecca shouted.

"Threw up? Why? It's not like she eats anything anymore that would cause her to be sick..."

"Mother, just please be quiet." Kelly snapped at her.

"Will you please leave us? I will get her ready, alright?" Rebecca stated.

Mother left the room. Kelly rolled over and put her head in her arms, then she sighed loudly.

A moment later Rebecca was helped into her dress, she then went to the wardrobe and pulled out a corset and chose a dark blue dress for Kelly to wear, "Will this do?"

Kelly looked up, "I suppose."

"Very well, come here and I'll tie you into your corset," she said.

Kelly went over to the bed and held onto the bedpost as Rebecca helped tie her into the corset.

A few moments Kelly was dressed and Rebecca fixed her hair up into a bun on top of her head, she then walked out of the room and saw Mother. She was sitting on the sofa with the wedding planner, looking very upset, "What's wrong?" Rebecca asked.

"The flowers were ordered wrong. So now we're stuck with 100 lilacs and 100 violets." Mother explained.

"How do you mistake Roses, tulips, and daffiodils for Violets and Lilacs?"

"I don't know. I think they mixed our order up with someone else's."

Rebecca smirked, "So some other poor soul is getting my flowers while I receive theirs? Oh well...I hope they enjoy them."

"Rebecca, your wedding is in two days. We need to make sure everything is perfect."

"Mother.. lilacs and violets will be lovely."

"Fine."

"We could arrange them both in a mixture to be my bouquet, and put the others as an arrangement on the tables, alright?"

"Alright, that should be lovely."

Rebecca instantly looked bored, "Do we have anything planned for today? Errands to run?" she asked.

"Well, the dress maker will be here at 3 to make sure your dress fits."

"Anything else?"

"No, I think that's all."

"Alright," Rebecca said with a sigh.

Around noon time, George showed up at their hotel room. Rebecca opened the door, "Oh, good morning."

"Good morning, Rebecca. Where's Kelly?"

"She's laying down. She hasn't been feeling well lately."

"I guess I'll just go into the bedroom and check on her." he took a step forward.

Rebecca stopped him, "I'd rather you not."

"What? Why?" George asked.

She looked at him angrily, "Well, judging on what I've heard about your actions on the Titanic, I don't think you can be trusted."

"Oh..." was all he said.

"Oh...yes I suppose that would leave you speechless, wouldn't it?" Rebecca snapped.

"It was a complete accident, I swear. I was drunk and had no clue what I was doing. Don't be mad at me. I'd never hurt her." he snapped back.

"Harold told me what you said to him on the deck. You were completely coherent and knew what you were doing! So don't try to pull that lie on me!"

"Shit. I'm going to murder that damn officer. He was supposed to keep his mouth shut."

"Well he told me in the life boat, we were going to tell Kelly, but have not yet because of the state she has been in."

"Don't you dare tell her that!" he said furiously, and the noticed he said that quite loudly.

Rebecca looked behind her to Michael who was looking alarmed at the sharpness in George's voice, "Is everything alright?" he asked.

Rebecca was silent as she considered this for a moment, "No...it's not," she answered finally, relishing at the opportunity to keep George away from her sister for the day.

"What's going on?" Michael asked and looked at George.

"Nothing at all." he answered tensely, "I'm going to check on Kelly, Get out of my way!" he pushed past Rebecca harshly and disappeared into Kelly's bedroom.

Rebecca looked after George, "I want that man out of here. He has been nothing but rude since arriving and talked in foul language to me," Rebecca said as she looked at Michael.

"Well it's not like I can just kick him out. He's Kelly's fiancé. I don't think she'd appreciate me throwing him out, and neither would your mother."

"Kelly would appreciate it greatly."

"Why would Kelly appreciate that greatly? It's her fiancé." Michael inquired.

"Nevermind Michael...I'm going in the other room to make sure he doesn't do anything in appropriate," she snapped before walking into the bedroom.

Kelly was laying there, and George was sitting up beside her on the bed. He was talking softly, and she wasn't answering.

Rebecca closed the door behind her loudly.

They heard the door shut and turned around. George rolled his eyes.

"Oh don't mind me...I'm just coming in to sit and read," Rebecca said coldly.

George glared at her angrily. She smirked at him. Kelly sat up, "Something wrong?" she asked.

"No...I just want to sit in here and read," Rebecca answered.

"Oh, alright." Kelly said.

George looked worried for a moment and turned to Kelly, "How about you and I go somewhere today? Just to talk about the wedding and stuff like that." he asked.

"Uhh..." she thought for a moment. "Sure." she answered, knowing she'd have to stay with him anyway.

"Good." he smiled, "Let's take a walk to the hotel I'm staying at down the street. We can talk there just fine."

"I do not think it wise for her to go alone with you," Rebecca said quickly.

"I'm not going to hurt her, Rebecca." he stated tensely.

"I'm sure you said that the last time that you did hurt her," she snapped/

"What is going on between you two?" Kelly asked.

"Kelly...I can't keep this bottled up anymore...but I don't know if I should tell you right now..." Rebecca said slowly.

"Tell me what?" she asked nervously.

"Rebecca!" George yelled, "Don't you dare..." he said through his teeth.

"Do not raise your voice at me George Morley!" she shouted back.

"You will show me some respect, Rebecca Hoffman! You're just a woman, you can't yell at me or tell me what to do. Now you shut your mouth before I shut it for you!"

"If you talk to your future sister in law like that and treat her like that sober and completely coherent I can only imagine what you might do to your future wife, with completely coherent thought!" she yelled.

"You can't make any assumptions about how I'll treat your sister! I can't stand you, Rebecca! You have no clue what you're even talking about, so just stop talking and leave us alone!"

"But what about what Harold said to me?! You even admitted it practically at the door that you knew what you were doing!"

"Harold is a liar and a bastard! He'll pay for this. I swear, he will know better than to do this to someone ever again."

"He would never lie to me! All he cares about is mine and Kelly's safety!"

"Will you two stop it!!" Kelly screamed and they both stopped arguing to look at her, "You both are confusing me, now somebody tell me what on earth is the issue at hand?"

"Kelly...I have kept this bottled up inside since the night of the sinking, but I can't anymore. It would appear that George Morley here asked Harold if he could get onto a boat...and to make a long story short, George confessed to Harold that he may of been drunk but was completely coherent when he raped you."

"Wh-what?" she asked incredulously. "George... is this true?"

"Harold is a dead man!" he yelled, "and so are you, Rebecca." he got up and walked over to her.

"You can't do anything to me." she said confidently.

He slapped her across the face. "I despise you."

Rebecca had her hand to her cheek and stared at him furiously.

Kelly was shocked, "George! Have you lost your mind!?"

"Be quiet, Kelly!" he snarled.

"Get out." she said softly. She repeated it again, only louder, "Get out. Get out! Get out! Get out! Now!" she screamed at him.

He opened the door and ran out, slamming it behind him.

Rebecca glanced in the mirror briefly at the red mark on her face that was still stinging, she looked to Kelly, "I'm sorry..."

"It's fine..." she answered softly in a shaky voice.

"I wasn't going to tell you yet...but...he just made me so angry," Rebecca said.

"How long have you known?" she asked.

"The night of the sinking...Harold told me in the lifeboat. And we were going to tell you once we found you...but then Jim...and then father. I never found the right time to tell you."

"So you knew all this time and didn't tell me!? Rebecca, it's been nearly two weeks!"

"When was I going to tell you?! While you had your head over the toilet?! Crying every night?!"

What else is there? What other information is being kept from me? There is always something more. Now tell me, what else is there that I don't know about myself?"

"That's the only thing I've kept from you Kelly!"

"Oh, yeah, I'm so sure of that... First mother and father kept the truth from me. Now you, Harold, and George. I'm sure even Jim kept stuff from me. Who can I trust anymore?"

"Kelly...I'm sorry..."

"Yeah... so am I... sorry that I ever trusted anyone." she rolled over in her sheets and made it so she faced the wall. She began to cry.

Rebecca let out a sigh and walked out of the bedroom.

Michael walked over to her, "What was all that yelling?" he noticed the mark on her face, "Rebecca, what happened?"

"George lost his temper and hit me," she answered.

"Oh... wow..." was all he said.

"Is that all you can say?" she cried. "A man has just hit me and all you say is 'oh wow'?!"

"I don't know what to say. What do you expect me to do?"

"Defend my honor! How about that?" she cried, nearly crying now.

"I can't do anything about it. I can't do anything to George. Just relax, Rebecca. In two days we'll be married. Everything will be fine. And you won't have to deal with George."

Just then there was a knock on the door as then the clock struck three, "That will be the seamstress..." she said softly as mother went rushing to the door.

A tall woman with curly blonde hair walked in holding a garment bag and a measuring tape.

Rebecca let out a sigh, "Michael...you'll need to leave," she said softly.

He nodded and left the room.

"Hello Miss Jones," Rebecca said to the seamstress.

"Good afternoon, Miss Hoffman. I have your dress right here, now we're just going to make sure it fits correctly, alright?" the woman smiled.

"Alright," she replied.

Miss Jones pulled the white dress out of the bag and held it up.

Rebecca gasped, "I never get used to seeing that dress..." she said softly.

"It's lovely." Mother stated happily.

She put it on and it was long. The bottom of the dress fell like a waterfall down to her feet where it spread out on the floor. The sleeves were long and hung a bit around her wrists. It showed off a little bit of cleavage, but just enough to be appropriate. This dress showed off any curves she had.

They then placed the veil on top of Rebecca's head, it had yards and yards of fabric hanging off and a beaded crown with intricate silk flowers placed around the top. Rebecca sighed dreamily at her sight, the thought of Harold seeing her in this dress made her heart flutter.

"Dear, you look gorgeous." Mother commented.

"Yes, Miss Hoffman, you really do look beautiful. I am sure your husband will have his breath taken away when he sees you in this." Miss Jones stated.

"I'm sure he will," Rebecca replied, still thinking of Harold.

--

The next night, at around 7 o'clock, Rebecca snuck out, "Can you please cover for me?" she asked Kelly.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To see Harold. I need to see him."

"Fine." Kelly said, laying in her bed.

"Thank you..." she said before going out of the room, Mother and Michael were no where to be found, so she quickly ran out of the hotel room and outside to the street to hail down a taxi.

Harold stood up from where he was sitting and reading the evening post to go and investigate the knocking on his door, when he opened it his face turned into one of joy, "Good evening Mr Lowe," Rebecca said with a grin.

"Rebecca!" he yelled happily and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into the room, "I've missed you terribly!" he kissed her forehead.

She giggled, "I've missed you just as much!" she cried as she closed the door behind herself.

He kissed her cheek and she hissed for a moment because it stung. That was the place where George had hit her the day before, which was now covered with powder.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's nothing," she lied.

"Did you get hurt?"

"George came over yesterday, and he lost his temper with me and slapped me," she answered.

"He did what!? That man is dead!" Harold yelled angrily.

"He said the same about you..."

"What do you mean?"

"I was so upset and angry with him yesterday...and now Kelly knows that he knew what he was doing when he raped her."

"You told her? Why? I thought we decided to wait until she was healed."

"I just...I was so upset with George! I wanted him out of there and he wanted to take her to his hotel down the street, I didn't want her anywhere alone with him...and I just let it slip..."

He embraced her, "It's alright, Becca."

"What are we going to do about tomorrow?" she asked.

"Oh, yes, your wedding... I got the invitation."

"Yes...what are we going to do? Because I am not going to marry him...after we left you last weekend he pressed me some more about the sinking. He thinks that I am going to talk to him about the sinking, and I refuse to."

"Shall I show up as your knight in shining armor and save you?" he smiled.

"On a white stallion too?" she giggled.

"Whatever you wish."

"Really though...what are we going to do?"

"I'll do whatever I have to just to save you from marrying that man."

"So what can we do?" she asked.

"I think I have an idea..." he stated with a smile.

--

Kelly walked out of the bedroom into the kitchen. She grabbed a glass out of the cupboard and put it under the running sink faucet. Taking a sip of water, she turned around and came face to face with Michael. She choked on the water and coughed it up, "You scared me."

"Sorry." he said apologetically. She turned around to the sink. He stood beside her, "So... What are you doing up now? I thought you enjoyed to sleep."

"It's not that I enjoy to sleep, it's just that there isn't anything else to do that can fix anything."

He nodded, "Where's Rebecca?"

She quickly took a sip of water and looked down into her glass to break eye contact. "She's asleep."

"Oh... well I suppose she'll need her rest for tomorrow. It being our wedding day and all."

"Yeah..." she said quietly.

"I'm sure you'll look quite lovely in your bridesmaid gown." he smirked at her.

She finished all of her water and turned around to fill up her glass again. She drank that one, with her other hand resting on the counter. She then felt Michael's hand on top of hers.

"You always do seem to look lovely. No matter what." she heard him say and his head got closer to her ear.

"What are you doing?" she asked shakily.

"Nothing. Just talking."

"Mr. Sullivan-"

"Call me Michael."

"Fine. Michael... you're making me feel a bit uncomfortable..." she stated.

He ran his hand up her arm. "I'd just like to talk to you."

"You are getting married to my sister tomorrow."

"I know that." he stated.

"So then please could you move away from me a bit." she turned around to face him and they were face to face.

She glared at him.

"I'm sorry." he backed off. "I just happen to find you attractive."

She groaned in disgust.

"I know I'm getting married to your sister, who really doesn't seem to like me at all, but if you're ever lonely and need a break from George... I'm sure we can make some... arrangements..." he whispered huskily.

She stood there frozen.

He smirked and walked back to his own room.

She got another glass full of water and drank it. Then she returned to bed.

Rebecca returned at around 9 o'clock and snuck into the bedroom quietly, closing the door carefully behind her.

"Kelly?" she whispered as she sat on the edge of her sister's bed.

"What?" Kelly hissed.

"Nobody has any clue I was gone, right?"

"No, nobody knows a thing..." she sat up.

Rebecca went to her own bed. "Good."

"But you might as well know, that scumbag you have for a fiancé tried to make a move on me. He pretty much implied he'd be willing to be unfaithful to you. I advise you and Harold do something to get you out of that wedding tomorrow."

"Oh my God..." Rebecca whispered...she then paused, "We have a plan though, and it will involve us coming back and getting you before you have to get married to George," she explained.

"Don't worry about me..." Kelly stated softly.

"We will not leave you behind to marry that scum..." she said.

"I'd only be a burden to you and Harold."

"No you won't be."

"So let me guess, you are somehow going to run off with Harold and come back for me?"

"Yes..."

"Fine. Do what you will."

Rebecca smiled as she stood up and pulled her night gown out.

Kelly laid back in her bed, and suddenly felt ill. She hopped up, covering her mouth, and ran into the bathroom.

Rebecca watched with concern as she pulled clips out of her hair.

She dressed for bedtime and slip between the sheets. She could hear Kelly vomiting in the bathroom and cringed at the noise. She sighed, "Harold, I really hope you'll come through for me tomorrow... I need you..." she said to herself and shut off the lamp beside her bed. Tomorrow would be her 'big day' and she was dreading it.

--

**Wow, we finally got a chapter done in only a few days. Yay! I'm so proud of us. haha. But as it is right now, George hates everyone. Kelly is sick. (But with what?? you'll find out in a few chapters). Rebecca is getting married in a day and she and Harold have something cooked up. Michael is a pig. Chapter 21 will be done as soon as possible. Pplease review. We love you people!**


	21. Into The Night

_**Titanic- Come What May**_

_**Chapter 21**_

Rebecca stood in front of her mirror, mother and Kelly had left a moment ago so she could be alone for a few minutes. She looked at the woman who looked back at her reflection, her face was caked in makeup, and she truly looked stunning in her long white gown. She thought of Michael, and then she thought of Harold, praying beyond belief that their plan would work.

Kelly walked in, wearing a dark purple dress. Rebecca turned around, "I thought your dress was blue?"

"Mother thought this would match better with the flower arrangements. The other women all have light purple dresses. She had them all switched at the last minute. Is that an issue?"

"No, it's not. I was only wondering." Rebecca turned back toward the mirror.

"Nervous?" Kelly asked.

"A bit" she said.

Kelly ham up behind her and placed her hand on her shoulder. "It'll be alright, Bec. Everything is going to work out fine." They both stared into the mirror at each other.

"I hope your right Kelly," she said softly.

"I am right. Harold certainly wouldn't let _you_ down..."

"Why did you emphasize on 'you'?"

"Well, he has yet to let you down, and that's all that matters..."

Rebecca sighed as then there was a knock on the door, Rebecca turned to look, "Come in." Then Mother walked in with the other bridesmaids and the flower girl.

There were her cousins Olivia and Josephine, along with an old friend of Rebecca's from school, Theresa, and a young woman who was the daughter of one of mother's friends, Margaret, all in lavender dresses. There was a young girl standing quietly beside them, Sophia, another cousin, who was dressed in a puffy light pink dress to be the flower girl.

"Hello," Rebecca said.

"Hello, Rebecca." All of the ladies said at once and curtsied politely.

"Is it time yet?" Rebecca asked, worry in her voice as she tried to keep down her nerves.

"Almost, we have to get you down to the church in a few minutes." mother stated.

"Alright..." Rebecca said softly before turning back to the mirror.

Mother sat down next to Rebecca. Kelly left the room, along with the four other bridesmaids and the flower girl.

"Well, today is your big day..." she said.

"Yes it is."

"I know that things have been very hard for you, since the sinking. But I want you to know I'm very proud of you for still going along with this wedding. You and Michael are going to have a wonderful life together." Mother smiled fakely, and even managed to squeeze a few tears out of her eyes.

"Right..." Rebecca looked down at her hands, trying to not make eye contact with her mother.

Mother grabbed Rebecca's hand and held them gently, causing Rebecca to look up at her, "This will be good for our family, dear. It is a good match." Then seeing she wasn't making much effect, "It's what your father would have wanted."

"I don't think so..." she muttered.

"You are going to get married today, and Kelly will be married next month. My two girls are all grown up. I'm so happy."

"We should probably go," Rebecca said softly.

"Oh yes, you're right." They both stood up. Rebecca walked out of the room, her mother behind her, dabbing her eyes with a white handkerchief.

Rebecca rolled her eyes in disgust and linked her arm with Kelly, "I'm getting married today..." she said.

"Oh really? I hadn't noticed. I thought you were just wearing this dress for the hell of it." Kelly joked.

Rebecca smiled since this was a sign that her sister may be becoming herself again.

They walked downstairs to the cars that would take them to the church.

The door man opened the car doors for them and everyone carefully climbed in.

In the car, Kelly held her sister's hand tightly.

They finally arrived at the large church and they all exited their cars. Together everyone walked up the steps up to the door.

Rebecca felt a bit nervous and smiled as the last of the guests arrived, all people she had never met, and she just assumed they must have been Michael's friends.

Everyone took their places. Sophia walked down the aisle with her basket of flower petals, throwing them harshly on the ground.

"Just breathe, Rebecca." Kelly said to her sister in the hall. Just through the door next to them was the wedding.

"I'm trying..." Rebecca said.

The bridesmaids walked down the aisle with their escorts, Michael's friends. George walked up to Kelly and Rebecca, "Ready, darling?" he asked sweetly, as if nothing had happened two days earlier.

She hesitated for a moment. "Yes, let's go." she linked arms with him and they walked forward. Kelly looked back at her sister, "Good luck." she mouthed.

"I love you," Rebecca mouthed back.

Just then a man who bore a striking resemblance to Rebecca and Kelly's father walked up, it was their Uncle Timothy. "Are you ready dear?" he asked. Rebecca nodded, "Yes..." she answered. They linked arms and then the Wedding March started up, everyone inside the sanctuary stood up. There in the last pew was Harold, Rebecca smiled at his slightly agape, stunned look. To Harold...she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and this just backed up his beliefs. They then began to walk and in a moment, Rebecca's hand was joined with Michael's.

The priest stood in front of them. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of Michael Christopher Sullivan and Rebecca Anne Hoffman in holy matrimony..."

Rebecca cringed slightly, but when Michael smiled at her, she returned the gesture.

Kelly watched as the wedding proceeded. She stared at the rows of guests and saw Harold in a seat near the back. She smiled slightly. He noticed this and smiled back. 'How long is he going to watch this for? When will he make his move?' she thought.

The wedding went on and then the Priest said, "Now...if anyone has any reason why these two shall not be married. Speak now, or forever hold your peace!"

"I do." a voice said. Everyone turned around to looked. It was Harold. He stood up and walked down the aisle quickly, coming to Rebecca, taking her in his arms, and kissing her as passionately as he ever had.

Rebecca grinned against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck, causing people to gasp and instantly murmur quickly.

Kelly smiled as she watched them kiss. George was shocked. As was Michael, who pushed them apart, "What on earth do you think you're doing!?" he yelled.

"I'm sorry, Michael, but I cannot marry you." she grabbed Harold's hand and they both ran down the aisle and out the doors.

The whispering became louder as Mother went half way up the aisle, shouting her daughter's name.

The guests all got up and began to gossip. Michael kicked a stand with a vase on it, causing it to fall and shatter. George walked to Kelly and grabbed her arm roughly, "If you even think about running away from our wedding, I'll come after you, and I will find you. So don't you even dare try a stunt like this." he hissed in her ear.

Mother continued up the aisle a bit and then went running out of the church, the streets of New York City were busy and a few people walking stopped at the sight of this clearly distraught woman, "Rebecca!" she cried. "Rebecca Anne Hoffman!!" she screamed this time. But her daughter and Harold were no where to be found, tears were streaming down her face and she was sobbing loudly. People were still staring, but no one stopped to comfort the woman. Mother then fell to the cold stone church steps, sobbing into her hands.

Kelly walked down the steps slowly and quietly, walking behind her mother and placing her hand on her shoulder. "Mum?" she asked, "let's go back inside."

Mother turned her head sharply, she stood up and grabbed Kelly's wrist, "Where are they?! Where did he take her?!" she screamed.

Kelly stood frozen, "I- I don't know." she stuttered.

"Of course you know!! Rebecca tells you everything! Now tell me where they are!"

"I have no clue where they went off to. But if I had to guess, I'd say they'd go back to England. Where in England, I don't know. But don't blame me for any of this. Rebecca hardly said a thing to me."

Michael walked out towards them with an angry look on his face, "I can't believe this..." he said to himself.

Kelly looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"Kelly thinks they might be heading for England, we can go after her!" Mother said hurriedly.

"Mother, you'll never find them, no matter how hard you look. Face it, she's gone, and whatever life she'll have it will be a hell of a lot better than this."

Michael looked up sharply at Kelly, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"She never loved you or wished to be with you. On ther ship, she met Harold and they fell in love. He is the one for her, not you."

"She fell in love with a pathetic sailor over me?" her said sounding disgustedly.

Mother looked at Kelly, "I will not give up on her, I'm going to call the Police...and we will find her, I will make sure she does not get out of this city!"

"Leave her be, Mother. Just leave her be."

"What is with you girls, meeting sailors and falling in love with them. It's despicable. They are just dirty poor men looking for nothing more than a good time. Can't she see that?" Michael rambled.

"Harold is a good man. He actually cares about her. He won't cheat on her, Mr. Sullivan. Like you were planning to. Sir, I am going to decline your sick offer. You're a pig." Kelly snapped at him.

"Michael is absolutely right! Harold Lowe and Jim Moody were both dirty men who have probably had countless whores before you two came along. Jim never loved you and that Harold does not love Rebecca. He is not what is right for her. I knew from the minute he knocked on our door on the ship that he was going to be trouble, I should of done something about it, and not believed Rebecca's lies," Mother said.

Kelly slapped her mother right across the face, "Don't you dare ever say anything about Jim like that! Ever! He helped keep me alive! And Harold saved my life and Rebecca's. If it weren't for those men, you wouldn't have us at all!" Kelly screamed, "Perhaps I ought to go next!" she ran inside.

--

Kelly woke up the next morning to hear mother's nagging voice, she seemed to be on the phone, "I don't care what it takes, you must find her before she and that scum leave the city!"

Kelly rolled over onto her stomach, buried her head in her pillow and sighed.

"Mr. Michael Sullivan is willing to spend as much as possible in order to ensure her safe return," Mother said after a few minutes of silence.

Kelly walked out into the living room. "Mother, you aren't actually calling the police, are you?"

"Kelly, be quiet! I'm on the phone!" Mother screeched.

"Just let them be!" Kelly yelled back.

"Kelly Ann Hoffman! You will not take that tone of voice with me! Now let me talk to the police!" she shouted back.

Kelly gave up and walked to the kitchen for a glass of water.

Michael walked out of his bedroom, looking very unlike himself. He also went to the kitchen for a glass of water. He didn't say a thing to Kelly.

She stared at him curiously as he drank slowly.

"Mr. Sullivan," she said softy, "I... I want to let you know I'm very sorry that your wedding didn't go as planned."

"It's fine..." he mumbled, staring into his glass.

"Why are you so upset over this?" she asked, "You loved her, didn't you?"

"I actually did... Even though Rebecca wouldn't open up to me and I could tell she didn't love me at all, I still cared about her... A lot..."

"I'm sorry." Kelly said sympathetically.

"It's not your fault. I should've known better than to have trusted that Harold Lowe man. I could sense there was something going on..."

"Yes, on the Titanic the two of them had a secret relationship. But Harold really loves her, and he'll take care of her. She'll be happier. And you will find someone else."

"I want to apologize to you for the way I acted two days ago right here in the kitchen. I was rude."

"I accept your apology. Mr. Sullivan." she extended her hand. He did too and they shook hands politely. She pulled his hand and brought him closer, then stated sternly, "But if you ever have another fiancé, you better not ever treat her sister like that either."

He nodded and let go of her hand, moving back a step. He took another sip of his water, "Kelly, I heard about the Titanic..."

"What do you mean?" she looked at him, confused.

"About you and some officer... I heard that you loved him."

Tears came to her eyes as she thought back to it, "Yes. I loved him so much..."

"I'm sorry for your loss." he looked down at the floor. "It hurts to lose someone you love..."

Kelly wiped away a tear. "I know that all quite well..."

"I just want to let you know, even though I am no longer engaged to your sister, I'll still be around for a bit. If you ever need me, I'm here for you."

She stared at him curiously for a moment, and then smiled slightly. He smiled back and then went to drinking his water again.

Mother joined them, "The policemen in this city are so incompetent and stupid! They won't do anything since Rebecca is an adult who ran away on her own. This is ridiculous! Can't they see the man corrupted her into doing this!?"

"Harold didn't do anything. It's love." Kelly explained.

"They are idiots!"

Kelly rolled her eye, "Just shut it already!" she walked out of the room and into her bedroom.

She laid down in her bed and closed her eyes.

_A tall man in a dark blue uniform approached me. I couldn't see him, but I could hear his footsteps. "Blimey, are you all right, miss? What happened?" _

_"I'll be fine. I just got a bit dizzy for a second. That is what I get for running around in this damned corset." I said. The young man laughed. He stretched out his hand to help me up. _

_Once I was standing up, I brushed herself off. "Thank you."_

_"Any time, Miss." He replied with a smile. _

--

_"Shh..." Jim hushed my giggling. He stood so close to me, that I thought I could almost feel his heart beat. His face came closer until I could feel his breath on my cheek. _

_We still didn't break eye contact. He moved even closer until he was right against her body, and our lips met. The kiss seemed to last for a lifetime, and we were both in feelings of complete ecstacy. _

_Jim had his hands on my hips, and my palms were flat against the wall on each side. The kiss went on and on, full of lust and passion. _

--

_He started kissing my neck, "I love you." He said sweetly._

"_I love you too." I said back to him._

_I let him undress me and I gave myself up to him, and let him do whatever he wanted. I gave him access to places no one had ever been. _

_He tried to go easy on me, knowing my lack of experience. Whenever it hurt, Jim kissed my tears softy, reminding me he loved me and that everything would be alright. Some parts were wonderful, and some parts were not, but when it was over, I laid in his arms, and I knew then I'd never feel more safe, nor would I ever feel more loved._

--

_We quickly kissed one more time, and then snuck down into the peaceful halls of first class. I opened the door to my family's room._

_We both went inside, and I shut the door quickly, nobody else was there. He pushed me against the wall, taking me by surprise and kissing me._

"_We're all alone right now." I whispered._

"_Good." He said, and I kissed him again, not letting go as we made their way to the bedroom._

_We fell onto my bed and laid there for a few moments, looking into each other's eyes. _

"_I don't ever want to leave you." he said sweetly._

"_You don't have to." I said back, and kissed him on the cheek. _

_He came on top of me and started kissing me passionately. _

--

_Jim pulled a ring out of his pocket. _

_"Where'd you get that?" I asked him._

_"I've had it. Just waiting for the right girl to catch my attention and maybe take my breath away."_

_"Oh... wow... It's beautiful..." _

_"Kelly Ann Hoffman," He said softly, "Would you do me the honor of making me the happiest man alive and becoming my wife?"_

_"Yes!" I yelled happily and threw my arms around his neck. I kissed him on the cheek. _

_He slipped the ring onto my finger. Then he leaned forward and kissed me. _

--

_Jim had stopped moving. His breathing had slowed until it just ended all together. I placed my hand on his shoulder and shook him gently, "Jim? Jim, please, wake up." my voice got higher as I tried to hold back tears, "Jim... please..."_

_He was gone. "Jim!" I attempted to yell, but it came out as a sharp whisper. _

"_Wake up..." I cried, "Please... wake up..." my eyes filled with tears, but they wouldn't fall, "I need you..." I whispered softly. _

Kelly's eyes snapped open again. The memories never went away. They were in her mind constantly and every time she closed her eyes it was like she was reliving it all.

She began to cry again.

George showed up, just as always. He walked into Kelly's room and sat down on the bed beside her as he had done a few days before.

"Good morning." he greeted with a fake smile.

"George, could I please just have a morning alone? I'm not feeling well." she muttered softly.

"But I don't see you enough."

"Well, on the Titanic you sure saw enough of me..."

"Let's just forget about that."

"Forget about it!? I can't! We need to talk about it... Why did you do it!?" she screeched.

"Because you told me that you had slept with Jim... I became jealous and I was angry and it just happened. It was out of anger and jealousy, and I'm sorry!"

"You hurt me. I don't understand you, George. One moment you're some awkward sweet guy, and then the next moment you're mean, angry, and possessive. You're like two different people. I don't get it. You say you love me, but if that's true why do you keep hurting me?"

"I do love you, and I only get this way because I don't want to lose you. I almost did, and I can't stand the thought of you leaving me."

"I think I'm going to be sick again... Excuse me." Kelly said as she covered her mouth and ran into the bathroom.

George sat their, confused.

She walked out and back into the bedroom.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"Yeah... Yes, I'm perfectly fine."

"You don't seem fine. Should I be worried?"

"Don't worry."

He stood up and went over to her, placing his hand on her shoulder, "You don't look fine. You look unnaturally pale. From what I've heard you hardly eat anymore. You sleep more than usual. And you just ran into the bathroom to throw up. Now to me, you seem ill."

"I'm fine, just leave me alone."

"Alright..." he agreed.

"I think I'd like to spend some time by myself today, George, perhaps you should go home."

He hesitated for a moment and then nodded, "Fine, I'll leave. But I'll call later to make sure you're alright."

She led him out of the room and to the door. "Goodbye." he said softly and kissed her on the cheek.

She shut the door and turned around to lean against it. She sighed loudly.

There was a knock on the door. She groaned and turned around quickly and pulled the door open, "George, will you ever just g-" she then noticed this wasn't her fiancé at the door. This was a young dark haired lady. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought you were somebody else. How may I help you?"

"An Ellen Hoffman invited me. My name is Grace Morley," the girl answered.

"Morley? Are you related to George Morley?" Kelly asked.

"Well there is a George in our family...I'm not sure if it's the George you speak of," she answered.

"Oh... well, anyway, come in." Kelly let her walk into the room. "Please do sit down. Make your self comfortable."

George ran back to the room and walked into the door. "Kelly, I just realized something." he was breathing heavily, likely from running up the stairs.

"And what would that be?"

"I'm a man." he said.

"Umm... congratulations?" she replied sarcastically.

"No, I mean, I'm a man and I'm supposed to take care of you. If you're sick, I should be here with you. And you can't make me leave."

"George, I'm fine. Really. And if you can't already see, we have company."

He saw the lady sitting there on the couch. "Oh, well hello, miss." he greeted, walking over, grabbing her hand gently and kissing it politely. "It's an honor to make the acquaintance of such a beautiful young woman."

Kelly rolled her eyes. "George, meet Grace Morley. Possibly your relative."

He dropped her hand and backed up, "Oh, I'm sorry. Uh..."

Grace giggled. "It's fine. And I'm very flattered. I can now see the resemblance between us a bit, it'd be hard to not believe we're cousins."

"So you're my cousin and we've never met before?" he asked.

"Yes." she smiled. "And I'm here to meet Mrs. Hoffman and her daughters. Apparently I'm her daughters' half sister."

"What?" Kelly and George both asked at the same moment.

Just then Mother walked out of her bedroom, "Kelly I heard the door, who was it?" she asked, she then saw Grace sitting on the sofa, "Oh Grace! You're here!" the woman cried.

Grace stood up, "Hello, Mrs. Hoffman. Thank you for inviting me to visit."

"You're quite welcome, dear." Mother said sweetly.

"Mum... Could you please tell me what's going on?" Kelly asked.

"Well... I was planning to tell you this sooner. See, your father had an affair with your mother, and also with George's aunt, Mrs. Morley's sister, Judith. Grace is George's cousin, and also your half sister. I hope you don't mind."

"Are you kidding me, mum!?" Kelly screamed. "You couldn't have told me about this back when you told me I wasn't your daughter? How many other siblings do I have hidden out there?"

"There are no others." mother answered.

"Why didn't you tell me before? And why did you bring her here all of a sudden?" Kelly asked.

"I wanted to see her...and I wanted you to meet her. Before we went on the Titanic I had learned of the second affair. Then on the ship while talking to Mrs. Morley, I learned of her sister giving birth to a girl twenty years ago. I knew she must be you're sister. Then soon after arriving in New York I contacted her and now here she is," Mother explained.

"Unbelievable..." Kelly said and collapsed onto the couch.

"I hope I haven't caused any trouble..." Grace said.

"You haven't, it was caused about 17 and a half years ago..." Kelly explained.

"Wait... so I'm marrying my cousin's half sister, which makes her like, a half cousin? Weird..." George said to himself.

Kelly rolled her eyes.

"George darling why don't you run along. The three of us need to talk," Mother said quickly.

"Oh, yes, of course. You ladies go ahead and talk. Good bye." he said as he went for the door, and then softly said "Bye Kelly." as he shut the door behind him.

Mother looked at the door for a moment and then smiled at Grace, "Can I get you anything to drink dear?" she asked.

Grace nodded, "I would love a cup of tea. It is not to much trouble."

"Not at all, I'll call up one of the Hotel maids," Mother answered.

"Oh well I do not wish to cause them trouble," Grace said quickly.

"None at all dear," Mother said before leaving the room.

Grace then looked at Kelly, "So were sisters then," she said kindly.

"Yes, I suppose we are." Kelly replied.

"Where's our other sister? Rebecca, I think is her name." Grace asked.

"Oh, well she actually left her fiancé at the alter yesterday to run away with the man she really loves."

"Wow..." Grace said.

"Yeah." Kelly laughed.

"That's a bit scandalous," Grace commented.

"Yes, it is. I'm surprised it hasn't been in the papers yet."

At that moment, Michael walked in holding the New York Times. "Have you people seen this? 'Son of Millionaire Christopher Sullivan, Michael, was to have been married yesterday morning, but in a shocking turn of events, his bride to be, Rebecca Hoffman, daughter of the late Thomas Hoffman and survivor of the Titanic sinking, ran off with an officer from the ship who sources say was a very close friend of hers while on board the ship. She hasn't been seen since. Her younger sister, Kelly, is to be married to George Morley, both of them also being survivors of the Titanic sinking, next month.'" he read out loud.

Grace raised an eyebrow, "That was a bit odd. We speak of it and then he comes in with the newspaper..." she said.

"Yes, it is." Kelly said and stood up, "I'm so sorry, Michael." she looked at him.

"I've never felt so embarrassed in my life." he sat down.

Grace then asked, "So, Kelly, you're going to marry my cousin?"

"Yes... unfortunately... aren't I just so lucky?" Kelly asked sarcastically.

"Oh he can't be that bad...can he?"

Kelly sighed, "you two don't know him the way I do..."

"Oh..." Just then mother returned, "The maids will be up in just a moment with tea," she said.

"Thank you." Grace said.

Michael stood up, "Well, I suppose I better go and... do something..." he walked out quietly.

"I could strangle Rebecca..." Mother commented as she watched Michael walk out.

"Mother! She's your only daughter! How dare you say that!" Kelly yelled.

"Well what she's put Michael through?!"

"She never loved him and never would. He would have put her through worse if they'd married. You can't force someone to love someone else..."

"Why not? I was."

"And you're doing the same thing to me... You know how it feels. It's not right."

"Kelly...we have company...we will not discuss this right now," Mother said, trying to avoid answering her daughter.

Grace was silent for a moment and then looked up at Mother, "If you two need to discuss something, I can come back later," she offered.

"No dear...no need for that," suddenly there was a knock on the door, "That would be the tea. Just sit a moment," mother said as she rushed over to the door.

Mother came back a second later with a cup of tea and handed it to Grace.

"Thank you, ma'am." she said.

Mother smiled.

Kelly grabbed her by the arm quickly and pulled her into another room.

"What on earth are you doing? You brought her here for some reason and I'd really like to know what. Why'd you bring her out here"

"I thought it was only right that you meet her."

"Oh, that is a lie. You kept the truth about me a secret, and it's not like you care. What's the truth?"

"Alright, fine. At first I thought maybe it might be nice to bring this girl out here. But now that Rebecca is gone, I thought perhaps if we match Michael up with Grace he wouldn't abandon our family."

"Are you insane!?" Kelly screamed.

"Kelly do not talk to me in that tone of voice! If my plan works out I will be taken care of for the rest of my life," she replied.

"So what, you're gonna marry me off to George for his family's money, and then somehow trick that poor girl into marrying Michael so you get his money and perhaps some of her money? You're using Mr. Sullivan and the Morley's for their money and that's not right, especially since you're not even giving a thought to what anyone really wants."

"I see now that my parents were right in marrying me off to you're father! I need to be protected, now...I do not want to hear of this any longer! Alright?"

"You pushed one daughter to the point of running away... Do you really want to lose another one?"

"You wouldn't dare!"

Kelly laughed, "Or would I? I'm tired of this shit, Mother!"

Mother gasped, "Kelly!"

"No, Mother, listen to me! Remember this fact. Love will always triumph over money."

"Well you're 'love' is dead, isn't he?" Mother snarled.

Kelly didn't say anything. Tears came to her eyes again as she stood there. "I despise you..." she whispered as she fled the room, walking past Michael and Grace in the living room and then into her own bedroom where she collapsed onto the bed and sobbed.

--

"Do you Harold Godfrey Lowe, take this woman to be you're wife? To love and to cherish her, through sickness and health, richer and poorer, till death do you part?"

Harold grinned at the woman standing beside him, "I do."

The judge smiled, "Then by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss you're bride," he said.

Harold turned to Rebecca and pulled her veil up, she grinned at him and within seconds their lips were joined. Once they pulled apart they grinned at the Judge, "Thank you," they both said.

"It was my pleasure Mr. and Mrs. Lowe."

Rebecca and Harold then held each other's hands and then turned around and left the building.

Once back at their hotel room, Harold picked his bride up and carried her over the threshold. He kicked the door closed behind him and then carried her over to the bed, he set her down and then sat down beside her.

"Hi," he said softly.

"Hi," she replied.

"Now we can do stuff legally," he said as he raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

Rebecca giggled, but a second later it was cut off by Harold's lips against hers.

When they pulled apart Harold grinned, "I love you Mrs. Lowe," he whispered gently in her ear.

"I love you too... Mr. Lowe," Rebecca whispered back.

--

Two weeks later, Mother was sitting on the couch beside Mrs. Morley. The two of them were looking at a guest list and figuring out a seating arrangement for the upcoming wedding. "Let's place grace next to Michael. The two of them seem to get along." Mother smiled. "And I will be next to them. Kelly and George will sit with us and you will be next yo your son."

"Sounds lovely." Mrs. Morley stated.

Kelly walked out. She saw the two ladies chatting and Grace was in a chair sewing.

There was a knock at the door. Grace hopped up to open it.

It was a man holding a few envelopes. Grace took them from him and thanked him. "There's a letter from my mother, and one for Mr. Sullivan here, and another letter for me from my aunt Louise. And Kelly, here's one for you. There's no return address on it.

She took it and opened it curiously.

_Dear Kelly, _

_We're keeping our promise. We're coming to get you. Be ready for us around midnight on the night of the 16__th__ of May. We'll come for you, and you have to have a bag packed. Don't tell anyone. The three of us will be leaving for England immediately on the RMS Joannic. We miss you._

_Sincerely, Harold and Rebecca._

She smiled. It was May 16th. They would be coming for her that night.

"Kelly, who was it from?" Grace asked.

"Oh, just an old friend of mine from school."

"That's nice." Grace went back to her sewing

Kelly folded it up and slid it discreetly inside her dress.

--

That night, Kelly laid in bed, holding the letter to her chest. She sat up and began to gather some clothes and other necessities. Being the only one awake in the house, she was the only person who heard the light knock on the door. She walked out of her room and opened it quietly. She wrapped her arms around the tall man standing there, "Harold," she whispered excitedly, "I've miss you!"

He laughed softly, "We've missed you too. Me and my wife."

"Oh, congratulations." she smiled.

"Thank you," he smiled back, "now do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, give me a second." she tip-toed back into her bedroom, grabbed her bag and shut off the light, leaving it behind.

Harold took the bag from Kelly and then his free hand grasped hers, they both silently went to the door. They opened it just as quietly as Harold had opened it and escaped. Once Harold was outside he let go of Kelly's hand and turned on a flashlight, flashing it twice. Then a black car came up to the sidewalk and the door opened. In the back was Rebecca, who took Kelly's bag from Harold and set it at her feet.

They entered the vehicle and shut the door. "Rebecca!" Kelly attacked her sister with a tight hug.

Rebecca let out a sigh of relief and held onto her sister like she would never let go.

"Go, drive," Harold ordered to the man driving. The man nodded and then the car sped off into the night.

--

The next morning there was a knock on the door. Mother answered it. There stood George. "Good morning, Mrs. Hoffman."

"Good morning, George, dear. I'll go get Kelly. She's being so strange lately, sleeping the day away. It's unacceptable."

They both walked into her bedroom. Mother gasped and walked over to her daughter's bed. "Where is she?"

Grace woke up. "What's going on?"

"She's gone!?" George was shocked.

"Who's gone?"

Mother nearly collapsed.

George sat down on the bed, and looked down at the floor. Something caught his eye. He picked up the letter from the floor and glanced at it for a moment, "Ma'am, I think I know where your daughter went..."

--

Rebecca took Harold's hand as he helped her to step out of the car. She looked up at the ship they were about to board. "I wish there was some other way of traveling to England," she said wistfully before getting her bag out of the trunk of the car.

Kelly looked up at it too. "I don't think I can do this..."

Rebecca looked at her sister and went over to her, "You can do it," she said.

"Were going to be braving this together, and after the incident with the Titanic they have really cracked down on these things. More lifeboats on every ship, and of course they've already ruled that the Titanic was going too fast. This ship won't go nearly as fast as the Titanic, so we have no worries. Yes it's nerve wracking, but were going to do it. It's the only way," she said.

--

George sat in a taxi that was going nowhere at the moment, "Can we go a bit faster please?"

"There's traffic, I'm sorry sir." the driver said.

"I need to get to the docks immediately! My fiancé is leaving me!"

"Well then," said the driver, "perhaps she left you because of your temper and impatience..."

George glared at him and then crashed back against his seat, crossed his arms, and was silent.

--

"Here let me take the bags," Harold said as he took pried them out of Rebecca's hands. She rolled her eyes and then took hold of her sisters arm before heading over to the gangplank, followed by her husband.

--

The taxi was finally moving and they made it to the docks. George jumped out, throwing a hundred dollar bill at the driver and he ran to find the ship.

--

Harold followed her and after they made it inside the officer behind them closed the door, the ship was no longer admitting passengers. "Harold love, where are we supposed to be?" she asked. "We have room..." he paused, "33 A," he answered.

--

George spotted the ship and ran for it. An officer stopped him, "Sir, I'm sorry but we're no longer admitting any passengers."

"Please, I have to get on that ship, my fiance is on there!"

The ship's whistle blew and they started to move.

"No!" George yelled. The officer was holding him back as he struggled. "Kelly!"

He was too late.

--

They walked through the crowded hallway to reach their room. Harold opened the door. He dropped the bags on one of the two large beds in the room.

"Kelly, you can sleep there. Rebecca and I will stay in this bed here. If you'd like to take a nap, go right ahead. We'll unpack."

"No, no, I'm fine..." Kelly said. Then she felt sick. "Where's the bathroom?" she said, while lifting her hand up to her mouth.

"It should be over there." Harold pointed to a door.

Kelly ran by, into the bathroom, and shut the door.

"Is she alright?" Harold asked.

"She's been feeling a bit ill for a while. She started getting like this about a week after the sinking. She keeps denying anything's wrong. But I'm worried."

Harold looked down at the floor. "I think I know what it could be..."

"What? What is wrong with her? Tell me." Rebecca urged.

"I remember this happening to my mother when she'd had my younger siblings... There is a chance that perhaps she might be expecting..."

"Kelly? A mother? Oh dear... I hope not..." Rebecca rested her head on Harold's shoulder.

Kelly walked out of the bathroom, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She saw Harold and Rebecca staring at her. "It's just sea sickness. Don't worry."

Harold and Rebecca stared at each other. He sighed, "Well, perhaps you should go to the doctor and have him check you out. Just to make sure you're alright."

"Fine. I'll go later." she agreed.

Kelly sat on the floor, pulling clothing out of her bag and folding it neatly to place it in the dresser.

"So we saw in the paper the ruckus we caused, how was mother?" Rebecca asked as she began to help Kelly.

"She was calling the police, telling them to look for you. She actually invited someone else to stay with us, almost like she wanted to replace you."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow, "Who was that?"

"Grace Morley. Apparently Father did have a second affair before either of us were born and it was with Mrs. Morley's sister! So our half-sister is George's cousin. Isn't that bizarre?"

"We have a half sister?!" Rebecca cried. Just as she said this Harold walked in, "What?" he asked.

"We have another sister. Her name is Grace." Kelly explained.

"Oh... isn't two of you enough?" he laughed.

Rebecca hit her husband lightly on the arm, "Be quiet and help unpack," she said.

They all continued to unpack the bags. "And the worst part of this is that Mother is attempting to set up a marriage between Michael and Grace."

"Anything to get some money," Rebecca commented.

"Yes, she's afraid that he'll abandon our family and she won't have anything."

They finished unpacking. "Harold and I are going for a walk around the deck. Would you like to join us?"

"No thanks." Kelly answered, "I think I'll just stay here."

"Alright, you should get some rest."

They left. After the door shut, Kelly walked out too, but going someplace else.

--

Kelly walked into the small office. A woman wearing white stood in front of her. "Good morning, is there anythin' I can help you with?"

"Yes, I need to see the doctor."

"Alright, and what is the reason?"

"I'm experiencing sea sickness and I need to see the doctor as soon as possible to ask him a few questions." she explained.

"Okay, follow me." The woman led her to an area behind a curtain. "Dr. Hanley will be right with you."

Kelly sat there silently. She took a deep breath as she stared down at her stomach.

"Miss, can I help you?" a tall gentleman walked in.

"Yes, my name is Kelly Hoffman, and I was wondering if you could help me."

"What seems to be the problem?" Dr. Hanley asked.

"Well... I've been getting ill everyday. I tend to vomit a lot. I feel sick. Everyone says I look pale and I seem different..."

"Miss Hoffman, when was the last time you had your monthly?"

"Sometime in March... I was supposed to get it towards the end of April, but it never happened... And I know what this must be leading to..."

"Have you had sexual intercourse with a man recently? If you feel comfortable telling that information to me."

"It's fine. And yes I have. On the Titanic..."

"You're a survivor?" he asked curiously.

"Yes..." she answered solemnly.

"Did your partner survive?"

"No, he did not."

"I'm so sorry, miss."

The doctor placed his hand on her shoulder, "Well, if your monthly is late and you have recently had intimate relations with a man, it looks to me as though you are experiencing the symptoms of pregnancy. You're constant vomiting is morning sickness. If you only had intercourse in the middle of April then you're child is due in January."

Kelly looked down.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." she lied, "I'll be fine." she left the office.

--

Harold walked into the bathroom and saw Kelly on the floor, leaning over the toilet. "Oh, I'm sorry... I'll just go..." He turned. Then he turned back, "Kel... what's going on?"

"It's sea-sickness..."

"No it's not. You were fine on the Titanic. And even on the Carpathia. I think I know what's wrong. What did the doctor say?" he asked gently.

"Harold..." she said softly, "I'm pregnant." she began crying.

He kneeled beside her and draped his arm over her, "It'll be alright. We're going to help you through this all the way. Don't you worry at all. You won't be doing this alone."

"I have a bigger problem... I don't know who the father of my child is." she began crying even harder.

He patted her back comfortingly while he looked down at the floor, realizing what she meant.

"I really hope the baby is Jim's, but there's a chance it might be George's. And either way I'm unmarried, and people are going to know what I did, and they'll say what a slut I am, and everyone is going to judge me..."

"No one is going to judge you. And if they do, I'll take care of them."

"I really hope it's Jim's child... I pray to God that this baby is the product of love, not of force..." she said softly through her sobs.

"It's all going to be fine..." he whispered, trying to calm her down.

She placed her hand on her stomach, "I hope so..."

--

**Sorry it has taken a while. This chapter was supposed to be two seperate ones but it ended up being one whole. There is a lot of new things that have happened that will effect the story. We have a lot more planned and will work on that. Becky will not have much computer access for a few weeks. But we'll attmept to manage. Thanks for reading this chapter and please review. We love you people! -Kell.**


	22. Just A Misunderstanding

_**Titanic- Come What May**_

_**Chapter 22**_

Rebecca walked into the room, seeing Kelly laying down in her bed, not sleeping but staring at up at the ceiling. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Not good."

"Did you see the doctor?"

"Yes," Kelly answered sadly.

Rebecca sat down on the edge of the bed, "Well? What did he say?"

"What did who say?" Kelly asked, not paying attention.

"The doctor!" Rebecca answered.

"Oh, yes, the doctor." she paused for a moment, "He told me I'm fine. Just sea sick. That's all. Nothing to worry about."

Rebecca rested her head in her hand as she studied her sister, "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Of course I'm sure." she said emotionlessly. "There is nothing wrong with me." she hissed.

Rebecca sighed, "I'm going for a walk with Harold, do you want to come?" she asked.

"Sure." she got out of the bed slowly.

Rebecca smiled and stood up, she left Kelly's bedroom and walked into her own, she chose a hat and placed it onto her head and then went to the sitting room where Harold was sitting, "You ready darling?" she asked.

Kelly walked out, looking exhausted. Her hair was a mess, as was her make-up, from crying earlier.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Harold said, and then walked over to Kelly, "How are you feeling? Should you be walking around in your condition?"

"What condition?" Rebecca asked.

"My sea sickness," Kelly answered and glared at Harold, "And I'll be fine. Let's go."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow at Harold but said nothing, she took his arm and then Kelly's and they left the room.

They walked through the hallway, and then onto the deck, into the bright sunlight.

Kelly looked out and saw the ocean. It made her sick just to think about. The waters had taken her love from her. It had also taken everything she cared about, and everything she once was.

Rebecca looked up into the bright sky and then to Harold who had the look of someone who was trying desperately to keep a secret, but then his face broke into a smile when he saw someone walking down the deck towards them. "Charles?" he cried.

"Harold Lowe?' The man said curiously, and walked quickly to them. "Well, imagine seeing you here. What a coincidence. You didn't tell me you were planning to sail back on the Joannic."

"I wasn't really able to tell anyone. It was a secret." Harold grinned, looking at Rebecca.

Rebecca grinned back, Harold then looked to Charles, "Did you see the paper any about that runaway bride of Mr. Michael Sullivan?" he asked.

"Oh, yes I did. And let me guess, this is her?" he smiled.

Rebecca smiled, "Yes...Rebecca Hoffman Lowe," she said as she held her hand out to shake Charles'.

"Pleasure to meet you." he said.

"And this is Rebecca's sister, Kelly." Harold introduced her.

He shook her hand, "Aren't you the woman who was with Officer Moody on the ship?"

Kelly nodded silently.

Harold glared at Charles.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up."

"It's fine." Kelly said softly.

"Anyways," Rebecca said quickly so as to try to change the subject, "How did the rest of the trials go? I was sorry to miss them," Rebecca asked.

"Oh, they were dreadful. Those bloody Americans are insane!" Charles stated.

"Stick with Europeans. They are much better to marry." Charles told her.

Kelly spoke up, "Not all of them, trust me. I'm engaged to one and he's a terrible man."

"But, Kel, you're not engaged to him anymore. We got away." Rebecca said.

"He'll find me." Kelly looked down sadly.

"No he won't...were not letting that happen to you," Rebecca said firmly.

"You are stuck with us Kelly," Harold said jokingly.

"There is no way he'll even know where we are. The only mention of any of our plans was in that letter we sent you, but you got rid of that."

Kelly froze.

"You did get rid of it, didn't you?" Rebecca asked.

Kelly didn't answer.

Rebecca pulled her arms away from Harold and Kelly and buried her face into her hands, "Why didn't you throw it away?!" she asked.

"I got it yesterday. The mail is slow. Then I was packing up my stuff and trying to prepare to sneak out, I forgot it. I'm sorry!"

"We'll work through this...we just can't go to where we were supposed to be," Harold said carefully before glancing at Charles who was watching this skeptical unfold before him.

"We can still go there. I doubt they'll find it, and it didn't exactly specify where we were going. It only said the ship, and that we were heading back to England." Kelly pointed out. "It will all be fine."

"I hope so...because I am never going back to that family, "Rebecca said quickly.

"Neither am I. I'm barely related to them."

Harold then turned back to Charles, "Were in A-34, stop by sometime so we can catch up. Maybe have a game of poker or something," Harold said.

"I'll remember that. We should get together later, maybe we can all sit at the same table for dinner."

"That'd be nice." Harold and Charles shook hands. Then he left.

"He seems nice," Rebecca commented.

"He is nice. He is the highest ranking officer to survive. He spent the night of the sinking on the overturned collapsible, shouting directions to keep them from capsizing. I have a lot of respect for that man."

Rebecca smiled, "It will be nice to get to know your friends," she commented.

They continued their walk. It was silent for a few moments. Rebecca looked to Harold, and then to Kelly, noticing there was some strange quiet tension going on.

"Is there anything you two would like to tell me?" she inquired.

"No." Harold answered immediately. He looked over at Kelly, as did Rebecca.

"No, not really." she replied.

"Kelly you've always been rubbish at lying...and Harold you are not that great at it either."

"What do you mean? There seriously is nothing going on. It's nothing." Harold stated, trying to hide his nervousness.

Just then a thought occurred to Rebecca, she looked from her husband who was looking straight ahead, averting his eyes from Kelly to her sister, who was also looking straight ahead, not daring to look at Harold. She then stopped walking, "I'm going to go lay down, I don't feel well," she said softly.

"Oh," Harold turned to her, "Are you alright, dear?"

"No, no I'm not." She turned the other way and walked back towards their room.

"I think I should go with her." Harold said to Kelly.

"No." She grabbed his arm. "Don't leave me. I need someone to talk to..."

"Kel, why can't Rebecca know about the baby?"

"She just can't. Not yet. I don't know if she'll take it well..."

Before walking through a door to head towards the rooms she stopped and saw Kelly holding Harold's arm, they were discussing something, but Rebecca couldn't tell what. She then quickly brushed away an escaped tear and walked through the door.

"I think she will understand. Just tell her. I don't like keeping secrets from my wife." Harold stated.

"I'm scared to tell her. I'm a mess. I've wrecked my life, and everyone will know that..."

"You haven't wrecked your life. You're bringing a baby into this world. This could be Jim's only child."

"Or George's..." Kelly said.

"Well, we won't know that until the child is born. But it all depends right now, who's child do you think it is?"

"I want it to be Jim's. I think it is Jim's. It would be more probable. We had intercourse twice, and both times were amazing. With George, it was just one short painful experience. I hope to God that this is Jim's baby... It has to be..." a tear rolled down her face.

"Perhaps you need to lie down as well. Come on, I'll walk you back down to your room and I'll wake you and Becca up for dinner." he linked his arm with her's and they walked back down to the room.

Rebecca heard the door open.

"Be careful not to wake Rebecca." she heard Kelly whisper to Harold. Then the door shut.

Harold laid down beside his wife. Kelly went to her own room

Rebecca didn't fall asleep while laying there. She only thought over the hurt and betrayal she felt.

A few hours later, Rebecca felt somebody shaking her shoulder gently, "Dear, it's time to get ready for dinner. We'll be sitting with Mr. Lightoller."

"Alright." she said emotionlessly and got up, dressing herself in a light pink dress.

"Will you go get Kelly?" he asked.

"Why don't you go get her?" she sounded angry.

He didn't answer her, so she went into her sister's bedroom.

"Kelly, time to wake up."

She opened her eyes and sat up. "Dinner time already?"

"Yeah, let's just go now. Hurry up." Rebecca left the room, somewhat slamming the door behind her.

Kelly walked into the sitting room, wearing a dark red dress with her hair fixed in no special way, just brushed and left down.

"Ready, ladies?" Harold asked, offering an arm to each of them. They left the room and walked down the hall. Rebecca kept glaring at Harold, and then at Kelly. '_Just because she lost her lover doesn't mean she has any right to take mine!_' she thought.

They arrived at the large dining room, that was nowhere near the grandeur of the Titanic's dining saloon, but it was still nice.

"Harold!" Charles Lightoller walked towards them, "We're sitting over here, " he led them to an empty table. Harold pulled out Rebecca's chair for her. Officer Lightoller pulled out Kelly's chair out of politeness. They sat, and were soon joined by an older couple, a young man, and two parents with their young daughter.

The older couple was Mr. Jacob Lewin and his wife Marilyn of Michigan, going on a trip to Europe. The young man was Daniel Banner, going to join his father in London for a business meeting. Then there were Theodore Weislen with his wife Olivia and their twelve-year-old daughter Marjorie. A waiter came around and took their orders.

Rebecca made no eye contact with anyone at the table, she stared down into her glass of water, thinking more and more about Harold's betrayal.

"Dear, are you feeling alright?" Harold whispered to her.

"I'm fine," she hissed.

"So, Mr. Lightoller," said Daniel, "Are you really the Charles Lightoller of the Titanic?"

"Yes, I am. I was the second officer. And this man here," he gestured to Harold, "he was the fifth officer. We're heading back to England for the British inquiries." Charles explained.

"I bet you two have some amazing stories to tell." Danny stated.

"I'm not sure we're really ready to talk about the sinking in public yet. It's still a bit hard to even think about." Harold said.

"Mr. Banner, most people don't seem to understand what survivors like us went through and are still going through." Kelly spoke up.

"I'm sorry." he apologized, "And please, call me Danny."

"Alright then, Danny. We do understand your curiosity, but it isn't really a matter which should be brought up now. It has affected me greatly. I lost someone. We all lost people we cared about. It's hard for most to fathom if they weren't there."

"I understand, Miss..."

"Hoffman. But you may call me Kelly." she smiled slightly.

The food arrived and everyone began to eat and converse with one another.

Kelly looked across the table and saw Danny staring at her. Then he looked down at his plate, hoping she didn't notice. He looked up again, and smiled. She smiled back.

Kelly was in the middle of eating her salad, when she began to feel ill again. "Excuse me," she stood up quickly, "I'm not feeling well." she walked quickly out of the dining hall.

"Perhaps I should go after her." Harold stood up.

Rebecca looked up at him, and when he wasn't looking she knocked over his water glass, "Oops. I'm so sorry." she said sarcastically.

He brushed at it for a moment but then gave up, "I'm sorry, please excuse me." he left after Kelly.

"Kelly? Kelly?" he yelled as he followed her down the hall. She entered the room and ran into the bathroom again.

Harold found her as he had before, leaning over the toilet. "Sick again?"

She nodded, "I feel miserable..."

He led her out of the bathroom, and they stood in the sitting room. "Would you like to go back to dinner?"

She shook her head, "I really don't feel well."

"Okay then, you don't have to. You can lay down." He hugged her. "It will all be alright." he rubbed his hand on her back soothingly.

She stood against him, becoming dependent on his arms to hold her up because she felt so weak, "Thank you, Harold."

Suddenly they became aware of Rebecca standing in the doorway, "Well, isn't this a lovely sight. My sister in the arms of my husband... How could you!" she was trying to fight back a torrent of tears.

Harold let go of Kelly and moved toward his wife, "Becca, you don't understand. This isn't at all what it looks like."

She backed away from him, "I think this is exactly what it looks like."

"You have to believe me! I would never do anything like that! I love you!"

"Well, right now it seems to me that the only one you love is Kelly." she folded her arms across her chest, "I can't even talk to you right now." she ran into her room, and slammed the door.

Kelly and Harold exchanged glances. "She thinks that we're having an affair..." he said softly.

"I realized. Harold, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. My stupid fault."

"No it's not. Rebecca and I will work things out..." he laid on the couch. "I guess I'm sleeping here tonight."

"Take my bed, I'll sleep on the couch." Kelly offered.

"No, I can't. You're in a delicate condition, and you need it more."

"But-" she began to say.

"Just go to bed. I'll see you in the morning and we'll work this out."

Without saying another word she walked into her own room.

Harold left the sitting room and went up to the deck where he walked around for air. He stopped by the railing to stare out at the water.

"Harold?" Charles came to him, "What are you doing out here all alone?"

"Thinking..." he answered emotionlessly

"Something wrong?"

"Rebecca thinks I'm having an affair with Kelly."

"What? You aren't, right?" Charles asked.

"No! of course not! I love Rebecca! But the thing is that Kelly needs my support right now..."

"What happened?"

"It seems Jim left something behind... "

"Which would be...?"

"Kelly is carrying his child."

"Oh... well... poor Jim... poor Kelly... that poor baby... This is bad."

"She is scared out of her mind and unsure of what to do. She doesn't want Rebecca to know yet, so now my wife thinks I'm having an affair! How did this get so messed up?"

"Calm down, Harold. Everything will work out. But it seems that you'll have to tell Rebecca about Kelly and the baby or she'll never believe you. But you can't tell her until Kelly says it's alright or you lose her trust... What's more important to you?"

"Rebecca is, of course. But I really can't betray Kelly like that. She wants to tell Kelly herself."

"Then it seems like you're in quite the predicament."

"Yeah..." they both leaned against the railing, silently.

Rebecca woke up the next morning, she didn't move for a few moments, she merely stared at the ceiling. Remembering what she had seen the night before, and all of the emotions she was feeling. After another five minutes she stood from the bed and walked over to her vanity, her face was red and blotchy from crying all night.

She dressed in a deep blue dress and then left the bedroom, ready for breakfast. Her face was caked in powder, so no one could tell that anything was wrong.

"Good morning, Rebecca." Harold said, sitting on the couch.

She ignored him.

Rebecca merely stood by the door, and then after growing impatient, waiting for Harold and Kelly she left the room and went upstairs to the dining hall.

A few minutes later she saw Kelly and Harold walking into the dining hall together. They sat on the opposite side of the table.

Just then a waiter came around and took everyone's orders. Rebecca ordered nothing and just stared at her empty plate for the duration of the meal.

Kelly looked over at her sister, feeling extremely guilty for this mess she created.

As the others at the table talked one or two said something to Rebecca but they received no answer. Finally when everyone was finished Rebecca stood up without excusing herself and quickly went up to the deck.

Once outside she went to some secluded bench and sat down, she couldn't see the ocean but she could hear it, and memories from what seemed so long ago came flooding back.

--

_When I opened my eyes, I saw the officer I had ran into earlier. _

"_Excuse me, are you alright?" the officer asked. _

"_Oh, yes. I am quite alright. I do apologize for bumping into you... again." _

"_Well, it does seem to me as though you are following me around." The officer commented. _

_"I am not following you!" I cried._

_"Yes, my apologies, miss, not that I would care if you were following me," he said with a slight laugh. _

_I studied this officer with interest. _

_Was that a compliment? I thought. _

"_Miss?" The officer asked, leaning forward a bit to look at me. _

_I came back to reality. I noticed I had been staring at his chest, so I immediately looked to his eyes, "Oh, yes. Sorry. You were saying..." _

_"I was saying, miss, that I would not mind if you were following me," the man said. "Excuse me sir, how could you possibly say such a thing? You do not even know me," I replied. _

_"Then please tell me who you are. What is your first name?" the man asked._

_"I am Rebecca Hoffman, and who might you be?" I asked. _

_"I am Harold Lowe, fifth officer. But please call me Harold or Harry. All of my friends do," the man now known as Harold replied. _

_"Well, Harold, it is lovely to meet you, perhaps I will see you around the ship. But I should probably return to my suite. My parents might be worried," I said. _

_"Very well I look forward to seeing you again," Harold said. _

_"Harold you say that as if I will see you again," I said, as she gave the man a look._

"_Well the guess is that we will be on this ship until perhaps the 17th, chances are we will run into each other again," he replied. I gave him a look that if he knew me well enough then he would know that I thought he was insane, then after nodding my head I walked around the man and went to the suite. _

_--_

_I was at a loss for a moment as to what to say. But then I just pulled Harold into a embrace and began to kiss him..._

_By each second the kiss was deepened. After a few moments Harold moved his hands to my waist and the kissing ceased. _

_"Wow" Harold said breathlessly. _

_"Yea... wow..." I repeated. _

_"That was a bit... unexpected..." _

_"I know." I nodded in agreement_

_"Rebecca, what does this mean?" Harold asked, still breathlessly as he was still recovering from the kiss. _

_"Harold I have feelings for you and I think they are the same feelings you have for me. I know that I am engaged to be married but I don't care anymore. when I am with you I feel safe and cared for. Harold...I came here to let you know that it seems...I have fallen in love with you," I explained. _

_"This isn't right." Harold said, not looking at me. _

_"But of course it's right!" _

_"You're engaged! To a man who can provide everything for you! He has money to buy you anything you want!" _

_"He can't buy my heart, nor can he buy my happiness!" I stated, then I said softly, "He can't buy me the one thing that I want." Then I put my hand on Harold's shoulder, "And that's you." _

_Harold looked up at me and smiled. I kissed him softly on the lips and then rested my head on his shoulder. "I love you," I whispered. _

_"I love you too," he whispered back _

_-- _

_The wedding went on and then the Priest said, "Now...if anyone has any reason why these two shall not be married. Speak now, or forever hold your peace!" _

_"I do." a voice said. Everyone turned around to looked. It was Harold. He stood up and walked down the aisle quickly, coming to me, taking me in his arms, and kissing me as passionately as he ever had._

_I grinned against his lips and wrapped my arms around his neck, causing people to gasp and instantly murmur quickly. _

_Michael was shocked and pushed us apart, "What on earth do you think you're doing!?" he yelled. _

_"I'm sorry, Michael, but I cannot marry you." I grabbed Harold's hand and we both ran down the aisle and out the doors. _

_-- _

_"Do you Harold Godfrey Lowe, take this woman to be you're wife? To love and to cherish her, through sickness and health, richer and poorer, till death do you part?" _

_Harold grinned me, who was standing beside him, "I do." _

_The judge smiled, "Then by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss you're bride," he said._

_Harold turned to me and pulled my veil up, I grinned at him and within seconds our lips were joined. Harold and I then held each other's hands and then turned around and left the building. _

_Once back at their hotel room, Harold picked me, his bride, up and carried me over the threshold. He kicked the door closed behind him and then carried me over to the bed, he set me down and then sat down beside me. _

_"Hi," he said softly. _

_"Hi," I replied._

_"Now we can do stuff legally," he said as he raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. _

_I giggled, but a second later it was cut off by Harold's lips against mine. _

_When we pulled apart Harold grinned, "I love you Mrs. Lowe," he whispered gently in my ear. _

_"I love you too... Mr. Lowe," I whispered back. _

_-- _

Rebecca wiped at her tears once more and she couldn't help but think that her mother had been right. Harold didn't love her, he just wanted one thing, which he had taken from her. She was a fool to believe that he loved her. She then remembered something from long ago when she was just a girl with Kelly.

_We were sitting in the parlor on the sofa with our father._

"_I'm so pleased to say you two beautiful little girls are my daughters," Father said. _

"_We're glad that you are our daddy," I said with a grin. _

"_Do me a favor dears." _

"_What?" Kelly asked. _

"_Do not ever grow up, and if you do…do not marry," he answered. _

_Kelly and I giggled, "Daddy we can't prevent growing up," Kelly said. _

"_Besides Mother says we have to grow up and marry good rich men who will always take care of us," I said proudly. _

_I watched as my father shook his head and then I curled back into his arm. I wrapped my arm around him and looked at my sister. We made eye contact and just smiled._

--

Kelly walked on the deck too, needing some air. She made her way towards the railing slowly. She closed her eyes, and when her hands grasped the metal, she opened her eyes to look down at the ocean waves breaking against the ship. "Oh cruel and vile ocean... Taking my love from me..."

"Miss Hoffman?" she heard a man say.

She turned around and there was Danny again. "Oh, pleasure to see you again, Mr. Banner."

"I told you to call me Danny."

"Alright then, Danny. And then I suppose you should call me Kelly."

He shook her hand and then brought it up to his lips to kiss it.

She stood there staring at him. "Well, aren't you a gentleman..."

"Sorry." he looked embarrassed.

"It's alright." Kelly smiled.

"So you're traveling with family?"

"Yes, my sister Rebecca and her husband Harold. But my sister isn't really speaking to me right now."

"Oh, but how could anyone not want to speak to you?" he grinned, "What's the problem?"

"Well, she assumed that Harold is having an affair... with me. I don't understand it. He's just trying to help me, but she mistook it to be that we've been doing things..."

"Wow. That's terrible."

"And the only way to get her to believe us is to tell her something I'm not sure I'm ready to tell her."

"What's that?"

"I can't tell you. The only person who should know is Harold because I confided in him."

"You can trust me."

"This is a family issue. I'm sorry. You seem like a very nice man, but I shouldn't really be telling anyone I don't have to."

"Alright then." They were silent for a moment.

"So, you're heading to London?" Kelly asked.

"Yes, to be with my father. I've been working sometimes with his law firm there and we have a big meeting with some new clients next week."

"I'm also going to be in London, living with my sister and her husband."

"You aren't married?"

"No, I'm not."

"A beautiful woman like you unmarried? How can that be possible?" he flirted.

"Danny, you're not a very shy man, are you?" she laughed.

"Well, I'm sorry, it's just that I find you to be a very attractive young woman, and I don't know why I should be discrete about that. It's how I feel."

"Thank you." she said. Then after a moment, she excused herself, "I have to go right now."

"Will I see you again?"

"You can count on it." She smiled politely and then began to walk away, not noticing those exact words had been spoken to Jim over a month earlier.

--

Rebecca sobbed on the bench for a while. The few people who walked past her didn't say a word. They just tried their best to not stare.

"Rebecca?" Kelly said as she walked by, "Rebecca, are you alright?"

"Do I look alright to you?" she snapped at her sister.

"You have to listen to me, this was all one big misunderstanding. I-"

"You're a slut, Kelly! You are a worthless whore who just keeps throwing herself from man to man, looking to be loved, but always comes out alone. You'll always be alone because you don't matter! You're a slut, everyone can see that. Even Jim did. He probably knew you were easy and just used you! But now Jim died and you're desperate and thought you could just go for my Harold! Just don't talk to me ever again!"

Kelly backed away from her sister. "You know what, I don't know why I even bothered to help fix this mess. You're still as stubborn and judgmental as you've always been. And don't worry, I won't talk to you ever again!" she walked off.

She found Harold, staring out at the ocean. "Hello." she stood beside him.

"Oh, Kelly, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm fine at the moment. But I suppose now it's I who should be asking that."

"What? I'm fine." he said solemnly and didn't look at her.

"No you're not. And my sister isn't either. She just said some of the worst things to me... I hate her."

"She's upset and isn't thinking clearly. Don't hate her."

"She called me a slut and told me Jim was just using me."

"Oh, Kelly, you know you're not a slut. And Jim loved you. Rebecca is just a bit out of her mind right now."

Kelly saw Rebecca walking down the deck, crying.

After hesitating for a moment, she grabbed Harold quickly and pressed her lips against his and kissed him strongly.

Rebecca stopped dead in her tracks a few feet away from them. "Well, isn't this great!" she cried. She ran down the deck.

Harold broke away from Kelly, "What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

She was laughing. "She's really upset now! This is great!"

"Are you out of your mind!? You've just made everything worse!"

"But- but she deserved it." Kelly stuttered.

"No, she didn't. You are just... unbelievable!" he started to sprint down the deck, "Rebecca!"

Kelly was left standing there, staring out at the ocean.

--

**Well... I know what you must be thinking... what a mess! lol. The next chapter may resolve things... it might not... who's to say. You'll just have to stay turned. haha. Chapter 23 will be up as soon as we can possibly write it. Please review.**


	23. Found

_**Titanic- Come What May**_

_**Chapter 23**_

Rebecca sunk to the floor of her bedroom when she had made it back to their room. She curled into a ball and sobbed into her arms with no end to the tears in sight.

She grew quiet though when she heard the door open and close, "Rebecca?!" Harold cried, frantic.

"Go away!" she screamed.

Harold walked over to the door and opened it, he looked down at Rebecca and bent down to her level, "Becca…I'm not cheating on you," he said simply.

"I saw you kissing her and hugging her!" she cried.

"Kelly kissed me, I didn't kiss her."

Rebecca stood up and walked away from Harold, "Yeah that is what they always say! You know what? My Mother was right! You didn't love me; you never loved me, did you?! I ran and left a life for what I thought was love, when it was just lust. Well, you got what you wanted from me, didn't you?! Then you grew tired of me and moved on to my sister!" she cried.

"Rebecca, I'm not cheating on you! Kelly has just been having some problems lately, she kissed me to make you angry," Harold replied.

"How can I believe that? You also hugged her last night, how do you explain that?"

Harold let out a sigh of aggravation, "She's pregnant, alright?!" But at once he flinched, it had been a long time coming, keeping the secret bottled up was driving him mad, and he finally pulled the cork on the bottle and let the secret out.

Rebecca paused, "Is it yours?! Is that why you've been helping her so much?"

"No! I never slept with her and never will! It's Jim's baby!" he replied.

This caused Rebecca to stop totally; she had nothing to say to that. Harold walked over to her and took her hand, "She wasn't ready to tell you, she was scared and upset. The reason why she kept getting sick is because it's morning sickness. I found out on accident and she begged me to not tell you, it's been killing me not telling you, but I made her a promise I wouldn't. You should not have found out like that, but it was the only thing I could think of to get you to stop screaming at me," he finished and let out a slight laugh at his poor excuse for getting her to stop the screaming.

Rebecca then let another sob escape her lips and she collapsed against Harold's chest, "I'm sorry," she sobbed.

Harold let another laugh out as he wrapped his arms tightly around his wife, "I forgive you, I just needed you to know that I'm not cheating. The thought has never crossed my mind and it never will. I love you and I'm completely and totally devoted to you," he replied.

They stood there for a moment with Rebecca crying into his arms, she was crying for the harsh words she had spoken to her sister and the harsh words she had said to Harold, and she was crying for how stupid she had been.

After a few minutes they went into the sitting room and sat down onto the sofa, Rebecca reclined in Harold's arms and the two sat there for a few minutes just talking. About ten minutes later the door opened and in came Kelly, she eyed her sister and sighed, "So you two have fixed things then?"

"Yeah, we did." Harold replied.

"That's good..." Kelly said softly and stared down.

"Kel, we need to talk." Rebecca walked over and shut the door. "Sit down." she gestured towards the couch.

"I'm sorry about everything. I just made a huge misunderstanding worse."

"That's not what we need to talk to you about. I want to know why you thought you had to hide something so important from me."

Kelly looked at Harold, "You told her!" she snapped angrily.

"I had to! And she would have found out eventually!"

"I was going to tell her when I was ready to, but now you've ruined it!"

"You almost ruined my marriage!"

"So you betrayed my trust just to get back at me?"

"No! Of course not! I just accidentally told her! And I had to fix this whole mess! It was the only way to get her to believe me!"

Rebecca yelled, "Will you two stop fighting!?"

They stopped and looked at her.

Rebecca put her hand on Kelly's shoulder and led her over to a chair, then pushed her down into it. "Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

"I was scared to. You're my older sister, and you think I'm a slut already. I didn't want to tell you that I made such a mistake. Now I'm heading back to London with you two, but my baby will just be another mouth to feed. We'll be a burden, and I don't want that. I was afraid you wouldn't want anything to do with me..."

"Why would you think that? You are my sister, and I will take care of you no matter what. I overreacted. You aren't a slut. I shouldn't have said what I said earlier."

Kelly looked down at her stomach. "I'm scared."

"It's going to be fine." She hugged her sister softly. "But I'm still a bit mad over the fact that you kissed my husband..."

"I'm sorry. What you said hurt me, and I just wanted to get revenge on you." She turned to Harold, "I'm sorry about kissing you like that."

"It wasn't entirely terrible." he smirked.

"Harold!" Rebecca yelled.

He smiled, "Sorry, dear."

"So, about the baby... what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean, 'what am I going to do'? I'm keeping my child. I have to."

"Good. Because I wouldn't let you give him or her up anyway. Jim wouldn't want you to."

"The issue, though, is that of the paternity. It could possibly be George's... But no matter what, I'm still going to love this child."

"So will we, you are stuck with us through this whole pregnancy and forward," Rebecca said with a grin.

"I really don't wish to be a burden to you both. You have so much ahead of you..."

"You are not a burden Kelly," Harold said.

"Look at the mess I've already caused. I make trouble wherever I go. Even as a child I did. It's just how I am."

"Kelly, you are no trouble to us, alright? Stop saying this nonsense, because we will always be here for you," Rebecca said firmly.

Kelly put her hands on her stomach and began to cry.

Rebecca pulled her sister into an embrace and held onto her tightly, "It's going to be alright," she said soothingly.

"How can you be sure of that?" she sobbed.

"Because I know these things," Rebecca said with an all knowing grin.

"I have the feeling that something terrible is going to happen. I feel like this isn't the end of my troubles. Like it can't just go smoothly from now on..."

"We won't let anything happen to you, alright?" Harold said.

"Thanks." Kelly said, and wiped her tears with her hands, "I think I'm going to go lie down..." she stood up slowly and walked to her room.

Rebecca watched as her sister disappeared, she then looked to Harold, worry painted on her face.

--

A few days later, Harold, who was standing on the deck noticed the coast of England on the horizon. he walked to their room. "Rebecca, We've made it. I can see home from the deck."

"That's great!" she smiled.

"How's Kelly?"

"Still in bed. She came out briefly because she was ill again."

"I ran into that gentleman, Mr. Banner. He asked me how she was doing."

"Well, wasn't that nice of him? He seems like a good fellow."

Kelly walked out of her room, and sat on the chair in the far corner of the room.

"Good morning." she said.

"Good morning." said Rebecca.

"Anything new today?" she asked.

"We can see the coast. We should be docking today." Harold told her.

"That's nice."

"Kel, would you like to go get something to eat?" Rebecca asked.

"No thank you, I'm fine."

"You didn't eat much in New York, and on this voyage you haven't eaten anything in a few days. You have to keep yourself healthy for the sake of your baby."

"I didn't eat much before because I thought 'what's the point of staying alive?'. But at the moment I'm just not eating because even the thought of food repulses me." she explained.

"Well, you need to eat something."

"I'll eat when we get on dry land."

Rebecca nodded understandingly. "Let's go up on deck to see the coast."

They all walked up to the deck, and stood against the railing.

"Last time we ever docked somewhere it was a nightmare."

"This won't be like last time. I swear. We've made it back safely." Rebecca assured her.

Kelly turned away from the ocean. She saw Danny through a group of people and walked towards him, "Hello, Mr. Banner."

"Good afternoon, Miss Hoffman. Are we no longer on a first name basis?"

"Sorry, Danny."

"It's alright, Kelly. So, we're almost there."

"Yeah. And it's great. I can't wait to be home in my own country again. Perhaps it will be like nothing happened over the past month... Who am I kidding... Nothing can ever be the same after the Titanic."

"I'm sorry to hear that. But perhaps things can become better now. It might not be the same, but that doesn't mean it will be worse."

"You're right." she smiled, "I'll try to make the best of my new life."

"If you ever need anything, you can find me. I'll write down the address to my father's office." he checked his pockets and found an old piece of paper. But no pen. "Excuse me, sir," he tapped on an older gentleman's shoulder, "Might I borrow a pen?"

The man pulled one out of his jacket pocket. "Here you go."

Danny scribbled down an address and handed it to her. "Don't be afraid to come find me here. I'll most likely be working every day except for Sunday. Visit me sometime."

"I will."

"Kelly!" She heard Rebecca yelling.

"Oh, well there's my sister. I suppose I should go to her. I'll see you again sometime, Danny."

"I'll look forward to it."

Kelly walked around a few people to Rebecca, "I was over there, talking to a friend."

"Alright, well we're about to dock. I don't want to lose you like last time."

The ship docked in the harbor, and in about an hour everyone had gotten off. Harold got a taxi to take them to their new home.

They arrived at a small house in London, where apparently Harold's aunt used to live, but now she left it to him when she retired to the country.

"Home, sweet home." Harold said unenthusiastically as they entered. He carried their bags our of the cab and left them in the doorway.

Rebecca and Kelly were about to enter, but he stopped them, "Wait." he picked up his wife by surprise and carried her over the doorway. She laughed. Then he turned to his sister-in-law, "Your turn?"

"I don't think so. I can walk." she stepped into the house.

There was a staircase right by the door when you entered, that led up to a hallway which led to two bedrooms and a bathroom. The down stairs area had a living room, a kitchen, and an empty room for whatever purpose the owners would need.

"This is lovely." Rebecca said as she walked in.

"It has all the furniture too. So, we're pretty much set. Just got to make it feel comfortable, like home."

"I don't want anything to do with home. This place should feel like a brand new place, to start our lives over."

Harold put his arm around her waist, "And it will be. Trust me."

She kissed him.

Kelly cleared her throat. "Oh, get a room, you two."

Harold smiled, "We have one." He picked up Rebecca and carried her up the stairs, "We'll be down in a bit."

Kelly laughed for a moment, and then it was quiet again. She slowly walked down the hall, dragging her hand along the wall.

A short while later Harold came downstairs, buttoning his cuffs as he did so. "Kelly?" he called out as he walked into the kitchen.

"Hello. Did you two have fun?" she smiled.

"I don't think that's any of your business," he said sternly before his face broke into a smile.

"Oh, like I don't know what was going on. And it's fine. You two are married now, it's only proper."

Harold nodded, "I'm going to run out to the bank for a few minutes to pick up some cash in order to buy some food," he said.

"Yes, food might come in handy soon."

"Alright, smart ass."

"How dare you speak that way to a lady."

"Oh, and you're a lady?"

"Don't make me kiss you again." she threatened jokingly.

He put his hands in front of him while smiling and backing away towards the front door, "Alright, alright. I'm going now."

He grabbed his hat and left the house, and it was quiet once more.

Rebecca came down the stairs, "Oh, did Harold just leave?"

"Yes, a second ago. You just missed him."

"Did he say where he was going?" she asked as she tucked a strand of her hair out of her eyes.

"To get some cash so we can buy some groceries."

"Oh...alright." Rebecca sat down, she rested her head in her hands in a fashion that she knew her mother would be shouting at her about in a heart beat, she smiled slightly and vowed silently she would never fuss at Kelly's son or daughter or her own about something as trivial as that. She then eyed Kelly's stomach, "What is a name you like?" she asked.

"Name? For what?"

"The baby."

"Oh," she looked down at her stomach, "well, if this is a boy, I'd want to name him after Jim. For a girl I'm not sure yet."

"Do you know what your mother's name was?"

"Yes. Mother said it was Dorothy."

"That's a lovely name," Rebecca replied.

"Yes, it is..." she stood there silently.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just thinking about some things."

"Like?"

"I don't know. Just things. Things that could go wrong. My mother died to have me, so what if that happens to me too?"

"You're not going to die. I'll make sure of that."

"What about my baby? Will something happen to it? I know at the moment it's only a tiny little thing in my womb, but I love this baby already, and all I want to do is protect it." She placed her hands on her stomach and caressed it slowly. "I want to be a good mommy."

"And you will be. I've known you for your whole life, and I know that you'll be a great mother, and take care of your child, and give it all the love in the world."

"This isn't the way anything was supposed to happen... You and I were supposed to be living in a house, watching after our gaggle of children, while Harold and Jim were working at sea. Then they'd come home to us and we'd be a wonderful close family. But that didn't seem to work out. Your half of it did. You and Harold got married, and your living in this house, and you'll have children and be happy. Sadly with your less fortunate younger sister moping around with her illegitimate baby."

"You will be happy too, you'll see. Everything will work out fine. Maybe not the way you imagined it, but we'll get through this all."

"I hope so."

After a moment where neither of them said a word, Rebecca gestured toward the stairs, "Your room is the one upstairs, to the on the left hand side at the end of the hall. It's small, but not bad. It should do nicely. We'll find some nice curtains to hang up, perhaps a nice bedspread, and I'm sure we can fit a bassinet in the corner for the little one. It will be nice."

"We can decorate it all nice for the baby..." Kelly smiled.

Sometime later the front door opened, Rebecca walked out of the kitchen where she and Kelly had still been talking while they made a shopping list. "Hello dear," she said with a smile. He kissed her on the cheek and then hung up his coat. They then walked into the kitchen and he pulled out his wallet, "I withdrew forty dollars from my bank account, you and Kelly can take twenty of it to the market and get the groceries. Do you think that should be enough?" he asked.

Rebecca nodded then looked to Kelly, "Think that should be enough?" she asked.

"Yes, that should do fine." Kelly said, and the two of them walked out the door.

Rebecca put the money into her bag along with the shopping list, "I remember when we were girls their was that little market by Picadilly Circus. If I remember right, that is not far from here," she said.

They walked down the road, and got to the market. There were venders on the sidewalks. Kelly picked up an orange, and examined it, "well, it looks fresh."

Rebecca took it, she too examined it, "I think this should do nicely, how much are they?"

"One pence, ma'am." The vender said.

Rebecca pulled it out of her bag and handed it to the man.

She then took the paper bag from the vendor and smiled, "Thank you very much sir," and she continued walking.

They bought some sugar, milk, flour, eggs, and some other necessities and walked back home.

Kelly, carrying a bag filled with everything, struggled to open the door. Rebecca opened it for her and they walked inside, heading straight for the kitchen and plopping everything on the table.

They put everything away, and Harold helped them. Then the three of them started cleaning the house, and by the time they finished, it was around midnight. They all went to bed.

Kelly laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, after having to listen to Harold and Rebecca doing things in the room next to hers. She fell asleep in her new home.

--

Three days later, Kelly woke up and heard a knocking at the door. She opened it and there stood the one person she had hoped she would never see again.

"Hello, darling." George said casually, "How are you this lovely morning?" he forced his way inside the house.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, shocked.

"I came to find you, of course."

"How did you find out where we live?"

"Well you left that letter behind that said you were going to England on the Joannic. So I sailed over here as soon as I could. Actually, once we realized you were gone, I ran to the dock just in time to see your ship leave. But I went to the White Star Line offices and asked them for any information on Harold Lowe and they led me right to you."

"You have to leave here, now. Go home, tell them all we're dead, I don't care. I will not go back there."

"I'm not asking you to come back there with me."

"Then what is it you want?"

"I'm asking you to let me be in your new life. I can't lose you."

"And what if I refuse to let you back into my life."

"I'll write a letter home to your mother and let them know where you're residing. Then you'll end up there again in no time."

"Fine..." she said sourly.

Harold came down the stairs and saw George, "Morley? What are you doing here? Get out of my home."

"No, Harold, let him be. He's our guest..." she said in a bitter tone, not taking her eyes off George who was smirking at her.

The four of them sat at the kitchen table, silent. Then Rebecca spoke up, "George, why can't you just leave us be?"

"I don't care about you two, I only care about getting my fiancé back."

Kelly sighed, "This isn't fair, George."

"Life isn't about being fair, it's about knowing what you want and fighting for it."

"So, what are you going to do now?" Rebecca asked.

"I'm wondering if you'll allow me to stay... unless you want me to write home to your mother and tell her where you all are."

"Fine!" Kelly yelled out, stressed, "You can stay! But just under one condition... I am not your property, and our engagement is off."

"That won't work for me. I love you, and-"

"No, you don't! You don't love me, you just want to love me!"

"The deal is, I don't give away your location, and you remain my fiancé and let me stay."

Kelly looked at Harold and Rebecca and then at George, "Fine."

"Good, it's all settled then." he smiled.

"How's my mother doing anyway?" Rebecca asked, trying to calm down the tension in the room.

"She is devastated. She's lost her husband, both of her daughters, and her fortune all within a month."

"So she's absolutely destitute?"

"Yes. She has nothing. Michael is taking care of her now, along with my mother."

"What about the money our father left behind?"

"Apparently it is all supposed to go to you two ladies. But since you're nowhere to be found, you can't claim it."

Rebecca took a deep breath, "And what about Michael?"

"The way you just left him standing at the alter destroyed the man inside. He has been depressed, until a little over a week ago. That's when Grace came. The two are now engaged."

"Mother forced our only other sister into an engagement with this man? How could she!" Kelly exclaimed.

"Actually your mother had nothing to do with this. It was consensual. The two have fallen in love. It's apparently not that hard to do."

"George, falling in love isn't something you do. It just happens. You just don't understand." Kelly complained.

He sighed loudly and leaned back in his chair. "So, where will I be staying?" he asked.

"On the couch, away from me, where you belong." Kelly remarked.

"That will be..." Kelly glared at him angrily, "Just fine." He said after hesitating.

"George, how about you go out for a drink or something. I need to speak to my family in private for awhile." Harold suggested.

"Alright, go ahead. But you all better be here when I come back. No tricks. I'll be back." he got up and left.

"This is crazy! He has no right to do this!" Kelly yelled.

"But if you don't at least pretend to be his fiancé, he'll tell your mother where we are and she'll have me arrested for kidnaping or something. She'll come after us."

"I knew I shouldn't have come with you two. I should have stayed in New York, and been married off to George like planned, then you both would be free and I wouldn't be wrecking everything."

"No, we need you here. And we are not going to let anything happen to you. We promised you." Harold said.

"What do I do about the baby? Do I tell him that it might be his?" she asked. "I mean, I suppose I owe it to him to let him know."

"You don't owe that bastard anything!" Harold yelled.

"But he needs to know... He'll notice eventually, depending on how long he stays here."

"I guess you're right." he nodded.

"I'll go tell him. If I know him well, he's at the pub down the street. He doesn't like to walk far." she got up.

"Be careful. You know how he can get." Rebecca warned her.

Kelly nodded and left.

At the pub down the street, men were smoking at the bar, drinking, and at a table in the corner there was a small game of poker going on.

There was George, in the game. Kelly walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder, "George." he didn't turn around. "George!"

"What? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something here." he said irritably, not taking his eyes off the table. He picked up a card from the pile and took a sip from his beer glass.

"I need to tell you something, and this can't exactly wait. I need to tell you now." she urged.

"We'll talk later." he gestured for her to leave.

She bent down to his level and whispered in his ear, "I'm pregnant." and walked off to the bar.

When it registered in his mind, he dropped his cards on the table and jumped up to follow her. "Wait, what!? You're seriously pregnant?" he asked frantically.

"Yes, I am. I just found out a few days ago. The only ones who know now are you, Harold, and Rebecca. I don't know if it is Jim's or yours... There are two possibilities. But I just thought you ought to know."

He stood there, shocked. "I need another drink... Bartender!" the man came over, "Another beer." he turned to Kelly, "You want one?"

"No, thanks."

"Fine. One beer, please." The bartender came back with the drink. George drank it down quickly and slammed the glass down on the bar. "Wow... A baby... this is just hard to take in..."

"It was for me too."

He gestured towards a small empty table and pulled out a chair. She sat down and he sat across from her.

"So that is why you were getting sick all the time. Oh, I knew something was wrong."

She nodded.

"I'm going to help you. Now I definitely can't leave."

"Rebecca and Harold are helping me, so I don't need you to stay. It might actually be better for me and the baby if you were to leave."

"But there is a chance it might be mine!"

"But more of a chance it might be Jim's."

"So? There is still a chance. I'm going to stay."

"But what if in the end the baby isn't yours?" she asked.

"Then I will leave, in January, after the child is born and we can maybe see who he looks like."

"Fine."

"And I'm guessing this much be true, because you wouldn't just tell me this to keep me around."

"It's completely true. I wouldn't lie about something as important as this."

"I'll do whatever you need me to do for you or the baby. I want to be here for you now. Maybe we can start our own little family." he smiled at her.

She looked away from him."I'm going home now, I'll see you later." she left.

He watched her walk out the doors, and then he turned back to the bar and yelled, "Another beer, please!"

--

**He's back... lol. Great... everyone's favorite jerk, George. He's going to be a big part in the next few chapters, so you'll see a lot come of this situation. Thanks for reading this chapter, we have chapter 24 started and we're trying to finish it as soon as we can. Thanks. Please review. **


	24. Freedom

_**Come What May**_

_**Chapter 24**_

_This is Kelly. At almost 3 o'clock AM. I am extremely bored. I was reading some fanfiction and thought I should probably try to do something. Haha. Becky and I had actually written most of this chapter months ago, but it has been lost on my computer. I have no idea what happened, so I, on my own, am attempting to write this all on my own before my mother wakes up and yells at me for being up so late. Anywho, here we go. _

It was now the beginning of August and Kelly had gotten slightly larger, much more emotional and was eating like crazy. George was still living in their house, being a nuisance, as usual. Every day he followed Kelly around, talking about things that she obviously hadn't the slightest interest in, and repeatedly bringing up the fact that he loves her and wants to marry her. To most girls, this would be a wonderful thing to hear, but to her, it was just becoming annoying.

Harold was at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee. Kelly came down the stairs, and joined him. "Good morning." He said.

"Ughh…" she groaned.

"I assume it's not such a good morning for you."

"Not at all. I've thrown up three times already." She looked pale and tired.

Harold patted her on the back for a moment in a friendly fashion, then turned around to refill his mug. "Care for some coffee?"

"No, thank you." She covered her mouth, "I'll be right back…." She fled the room and went back up stairs. Harold could hear the bathroom door slam shut.

George stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "That couch is really messing with my back." He stretched backwards causing a sickening crack that made Harold cringe.

"Well if you do not like my couch, then perhaps you should move back to New York. Do us all a favor, will ya?" Harold snapped. He still hated the fact that George was there. They all did.

"Mr. Lowe, I'm staying here at least til January when my child is born. And if by some chance it isn't mine, but that filthy officer's, then I'll leave immediately. But if it is mine, then I will take Kelly and little Georgie Jr. back home to my family and make them my family." He explained.

Harold's blood was boiling over that 'filthy officer' comment. But because they were all still afraid of George sending a letter home to Mrs. Hoffman telling her of their location, he kept his mouth shut. He was disgusted by the power George Morley had over him in his own home.

"Mr. Lowe, would you please be a gentleman and get me some coffee?"

"Get it your own damn self." Harold slammed his mug down on the counter and walked out.

----------

Rebecca and Kelly were walking down the street, which was something they liked to do every once in a while.

"So how are you feeling today, Kel?" Rebecca asked.

"Sick. Hungry. Tired. And fat." She answered, placing her hands on the small bump under her dress.

"Aw. Well sadly you have about 5 more months to go til your little angel arrives." Rebecca smiled.

"I can't wait. It'll be pretty painful, but I have no choice. Plus, I need to do this for Jim." Kelly looked down and smiled slightly, "Also, then hopefully George will go away."

"Hopefully…"

Kelly saw a building a few yards away with a sign in front that read 'Oliver Banner and Sons'.

"Becca, would you come with me for a moment?" Kelly asked. Before Rebecca could reply, Kelly had already started walking ahead.

They entered the building, and saw a waiting room with a large leather sofa and three matching arm chairs, surrounding an oak coffee table. In the corner of the room was a secretary's desk, with a rather plain woman sitting behind it.

They approached her. "Hello, my name is Maura. What can I do for you ladies?" the secretary asked in an Irish accent.

"I'm wondering if Daniel Banner works here. I met him on board a ship and he told me he worked somewhere around here with his father."

"Yes, he works here. He's in the office down the hall to the left." Maura pointed.

"Thank you." Kelly and Rebecca walked til they found a door that had Danny's name on it. They knocked.

A tall man answered and stared at the two women, "Kelly?"

She nodded and walked into the office. "Hello Danny."

"This is a pleasant surprise. I was starting to think you'd lost that address I gave you. Or that you just didn't want to visit."

"I've been very busy lately. I simply just forgot. I'm sorry."

"It's alright," he said and smiled, "And this must be your sister, Rebecca, right?" he held out his hand to her, "It's nice to see you again. How is your husband doing?"

"He's doing well. Thank you." She answered.

"So what have you girls been up to?" he asked.

"Nothing really." Kelly answered. "Rebecca and I have been taking care of the house while Harold goes away to work on ships, and we have a house guest, or more of a pest, who won't leave. He's my ex-fiance, and he's highly possessive. I can't seem to get rid of him."

"That sounds awful. I could try to get him legally thrown out if you'd like."

"We can't upset him much, or else he'll go back home to my mother and tell her where we're living. She'll have us dragged home immediately. And anywhere near that woman is no place to live or to raise my child."

"You're expecting?" he then looked down and noticed the little bump under her clothing.

"Yes. It's my little Titanic miracle. The only piece I have left of the baby's father. He perished…." Kelly's eyes filled with tears, but they didn't leave her eyes.

"I am so sorry to hear that, miss. If there's ever anything you need, please come find me. I want to help."

"Thank you, Danny." She smiled.

"We should get going" Rebecca said. She walked out of the room.

"It was lovely seeing you again." Kelly walked towards the door.

He stood next to her, "it was lovely seeing you again too. And really, please do come find me again. I want to see you again."

"I will. I promise you." She smiled and walked out.

Once they walked out, Rebecca grabbed Kelly's arm and as they walked she said "I saw the way you were looking at him. And the way he made you smile."

"What are you talking about, Rebecca? If you are implying I have any feelings for that man other than friendly ones, then you are greatly mistaken. I am still very in love with Jim."

"But Jim is gone, dear. I'm sure he wouldn't find fault with you moving on. He'd be happy if you found someone who makes you happy."

"Well I'm not sure I'm ready to move on just yet."

---------

The next day at home, Kelly was walking down the hall, from her room to the bathroom. George was walking up the stairs and saw her. "Good morning, darling." She rolled her eyes, "How are you feeling this morning?" George asked.

"I'm feeling like I feel every day." She replied plainly.

"Anything I can do for you?"

"No. Thank you." She decided to walk down the stairs instead, but George blocked her path.

"Can we talk for a moment?"

She crossed her arms. "You have sixty seconds. No more than that."

"I wanted to talk to you about us. I was thinking after the baby is born, we can go back to New York and find your mother and let her know you're safe, and we can then start planning our wedding. I was thinking it could be for May. Only a year later than our original wedding date."

"George, I don't wanna marry you."

"Darling, I know you're still shaken up from the disaster, and you're still mourning over that sailor- that I don't understand why- but you have to understand, he isn't coming back. But here is a man standing in front of you who loves you and can provide for you, and can take care of you in ways that poor officer couldn't."

"You disgust me." Kelly said as she tried to get past him to go down the stairs.

Once again, he blocked her. "It really is time that you moved on, dear."

"You are such an insensitive man. Why was I ever friends with you? You repulse me!" she pushed him out of the way, and he grabbed her shoulders tightly.

He shook her and made him look her in the eyes. "You will marry me. I'm basically holding a gun to you and Harold and Rebecca's new life. With just one letter, all of this will disappear and you'll be on the first ship back to your mother. Don't mess with me."

"I want you out of my life! I don't care what you do. I can run away."

"And what about your sister and her husband? I also have some connections. I can make their lives very difficult."

"Is that a threat, Mr. Morley?" she stared at him coldly.

"Yes, it is. Now I think you'd be wise to not upset me. Just do as I say." He was still holding onto her shoulders.

"You can make all the threats you want to, but I will never do as you say. You don't own me. You don't own my family. You're a selfish asshole! I hope I never see you again!"

A second later, she wished she could have kept her mouth shut for that moment, because the next thing she heard was her own scream as she fell down the stairs.

----------

The hospital was pretty empty on that day, except for the nurses walking about, and Rebecca, Harold, and George all sitting in the waiting room.

Rebecca had her head rested on her husband's shoulder. "Do you think Kelly will be alright?" she asked, looking up at him.

He had his arm around her, and pulled her slightly closer. "She'll be fine, sweetheart."

George was sitting in the corner, his hands in his lap and his head down.

"What did you do to her?" Harold asked accusingly, looking at George, whose head snapped up.

"I didn't do anything. She fell." He answered, sounded half irritated, half worried.

"I doubt that." Rebecca commented.

A doctor came out of the doors leading to a hallway from the waiting room. "I need to speak to the family members of Miss Kelly Hoffman."

The three of them stood up and approached the doctor.

"Is everything alright, doctor?" Rebecca asked quickly.

"She is going to be fine. Her wrist is sprained, but other than that she is fine. Although there is something else…"

"Is the baby okay?" George asked in a slightly frantic state.

"It appears as though the fall caused her to have a miscarriage. The child is gone. I'm sorry."

"May we see her?" Harold asked after a moment.

"Yes, right this way." They followed the man down the hall til they reached her room.

Kelly laid there asleep.

Rebecca placed a hand over her hand, and Kelly's eyes fluttered open slowly.

"How're ya feeling?" Harold asked.

"Fine. My wrist hurts and I feel strange. But that's all."

"Did the doctor talk to you at all?"

"No. Why?" she asked.

"You have a sprained wrist, and," Harold couldn't say it.

The room was silent for a moment. "Is my child alright?" she asked.

Nobody spoke. She started to cry.

George approached her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Well now you can come home with me earlier than planned."

"No. I don't want to. I'd rather stay with my real family."

"You are impossible!" George yelled. "You know what…. Fine. Stay here with your poor filthy family. Now I'm sure that child couldn't have been mine. A Morley wouldn't be as weak as your little bastard child. I'm glad it's gone. Enjoy the rest of your life, darling. I now free you of your engagement. Goodbye." He walked out of the room.

Harold ran out after him, finding him in the hallway. "Morley!" he yelled.

George spun around. "What do you want?"

"I've had enough of you. You've done nothing but disrespect me and my wife, and treat my sister in law like dirt. You held us all under your power with threats of exposing our location. You also insulted a very good friend of mine, and his child. I don't ever want to see you again for as long as I live."

George walked up to Harold. "I don't plan on coming back. I'd rather pretend you're all dead. You, your bitch of a wife, and your whore of a sister in law. Who, by the way, I pushed down the stairs."

Harold punched him in the gut. "This is for my wife and I." he punched him again, "That is for Kelly." And then he punched him in the face, "And that is for Jim's memory which you have insulted on more than one occasion."

George coughed a few times and was holding his stomach. He glared at Harold, and then limped away in defeat.

Harold went back to join Rebecca and Kelly in the hospital room. "I took care of that bastard."

"We heard." Rebecca said. Then she turned to Kelly. "I'm so sorry about the baby."

Kelly smiled. "You two are going to hate me. But the baby is fine. I begged to doctor to tell you that it was lost so that George would hopefully leave. It worked. We're free."

"Are you serious?!" Rebecca was shocked.

Harold chuckled, "Kel, you are a genius."

_My mom made me go to bed last night, so I just finished the other half now. I wrote it all. I gave it to Becky to add in things or fix it up. I'm not sure if she did, because I'm writing this little not before giving it to her to work on. She may add her own notes after. I am very sorry this hasn't been updated in so long. It's all my fault. Life has gotten extremely crazy. Anywho, I'm trying to get back with this. Please be patient. And review. I love you people. –Kell. :D_

_Nevermind. Becky doesn't have anything to add. She doesn't love you people as much as I do. Throw tomatoes at her. =P just kidding, becky. _


	25. Expecting

_**Come What May**_

_**Chapter 25**_

The leaves had turned bright shades of orange, yellow, and red. They lay scattered all over the sidewalks. The air had cooled down quite noticeably, since it was now October. Kelly sat in a chair in the living room, attempting to knit a blanket. "I can't do this!" she threw the needles and yarn into her lap. "Mother never taught me how to knit." she complained.

Rebecca looked up from her cross stitching and then set her work down on the table beside her, "Surely you can do it. Here watch me." She took the needles and yarn from Kelly's lap and began to work with the material slowly. "Do you see?"

"I guess so. I'm no good at knitting. I was never really good at anything. Care to finish that blanket for me? Surely you wouldn't want your little niece or nephew to freeze this winter."

Rebecca rolled her eyes, "Fine...but go and put on the kettle would you?" She began to work faster with the needles as the thread came together as a blanket.

Kelly went into the kitchen to make some tea.

She walked back into the living room with two cups of tea. She placed one down in front of Rebecca and sat on the sofa with her own. "So, do you miss Harold?"

Rebecca's fingers fumbled at the mention of her husband's name, "Every second I'm awake." She murmured, quickly going to correct the mistake she had made. The thread was all bunched up now.

"I can see that." she looked at the bunched up yarn. "Don't worry. He'll be fine."

Rebecca frowned, "It's hard to not worry. He's so far away." She sighed, beginning to not feel well at all. She took a sip of her tea, hoping it would settle down her stomach.

"Ships are pretty frightening to me now. I don't think I ever want to get on one again. I was pretty nervous on the Joannic, and on the Carpathia I was too depressed to even move. I'd rather stay on this continent. On dry land."

Rebecca shrugged, "Harold knew though when he took his oath and got into this business the risks. But I agree...I don't think I could ever go on a ship again."

"I wish we could go back to those days on the ship..." Kelly said softly.

"The ship was a wonder...but it was also...I don't know. If things had happened differently..." she trailed off and went back to her knitting.

"That ship was probably the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Kelly got a chill as she thought about walking down the grand staircase, and about walking on the deck in the afternoon sunlight. "I think I'd give anything to go back to those days. To relive them. And to change things so that I could've made the most of the time I had with Jim. Maybe even saved him..." she put her hands on her stomach and looked away. Rebecca could see her eyes glistening.

"I wish I had it in my power to give you that. If we had known then what we know now...life would be very different." Rebecca finished off the blanket and held it up, "What do you think?"

"It's lovely." Kelly smiled.

She stood up, "Good." Her stomach was in pain again. "Excuse me a moment." Rebecca left the room and headed up the stairs. And then she was throwing up.

Kelly knew something wasn't right. "Becca?" she called from the bottom of the stairs. "Is everything alright up there?"

She emerged a moment later, looking paler, "I just...it must have been that fish we had last night. It didn't settle well with my stomach."

"Okay..." Kelly stared at her curiously, "If you're sure..."

Rebecca nodded, "I'm sure. I best start fixing our supper. Do you have anything in mind?"

_("Yeah. Let's go to the BK around the corner. I love the crowns. Plus I hear they have Spongebob toys!!!!!"_

_Rebecca grinned, "Okay!" And they ran out of the house like little children. Haha. We're so professional. Anyway, getting back to the story…)_

"I'm not sure. Whatever you feel like eating. I'm not feeling too well right now. So I think you'll be alone for dinner tonight."

"Very well." Rebecca headed for the stairs and began to look for something in the pantry to eat. They really needed to go shopping. She finally decided on a potato...it was bland it wouldn't upset her stomach.

"You're only going to eat a potato?" Kelly asked. "You usually don't eat potatoes."

"Well they are bland and it shouldn't upset my stomach." Rebecca commented as she began to heat up the water to boil the food.

Kelly slowly eased herself into a kitchen chair. "You look pale."

"That tends to happen when you throw up." Rebecca replied.

"And why did you throw up?"

"I told you I think it was because of the fish we ate last night."

"You think? You don't know for sure...."

"Kelly what are you playing at?"

"Nothing. Your symptoms are just reminding me of myself...."

Rebecca stopped scrubbing the potato and looked at her, "Y...you think?" she asked slowly.

"Well I can't be sure. I was just suggesting that it is possible."

Rebecca looked down at her stomach, "I wonder if that's what it is." She seemed to like this idea...and knew Harold would love it. He desperately wanted a son. "Oh how lovely would that be? We could raise our children together!"

"You seem happy." Kelly smiled. "When were you supposed to get your monthly?"

"Oh I don't know...it would have been sometime last week I suppose."

"Well it is late. You never know. There could be a little Harry Lowe in there somewhere." Kelly poked her lightly in the stomach.

Rebecca laughed, pushing her sister's hand away, "Well we'll have to wait and see."

"Looks like I'll have to congratulate Harold on a job well done." Kelly smirked.

"Oh my goodness. If I am indeed expecting a baby you will hold you tongue when he comes home so I can tell him."

"Aw. You're no fun." Kelly crossed her arms and pouted.

----------

After several days with each morning proving the same result, vomiting, Rebecca went to the doctors.

She was able to be seen at once and the doctor began to examine her. She explained her symptoms, when she had last had her monthly, and when she had last been with her husband. It all seemed to add up.

"It would definitely appear Mrs. Lowe that you have a little one on the way." He told her.

Rebecca's hand spread over her stomach, "That's wonderful." She was beaming, "Thank you...very much."

"Of course. Congratulations."

Rebecca stood up from the chair she was sitting in and after making a brief goodbye she left the room.

On her way out she didn't notice a middle aged man with his younger wife. She was about four months pregnant and must have been going in for her check up. But the man noticed her...and he recognized her.

"Millie stay here a moment," he whispered.

His wife watched him as he approached a woman at a desk, "What can I do for you sir?"

"That woman...the one that just walked out?" He pointed towards the door.

The woman nodded, "Mrs. Lowe?"

He eyed her weird, "Yes...do you have her information where she lives? She's an old friend of mine see and I haven't seen her in a very long time."

The woman began to scrawl the information down, "Of course sir. Here you are."

"Thank you."

The man smiled and returned to his wife.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"I think I just saw one of the Hoffman girls go out...but she appears to be married now. I've been talking to their mother and she had said something about the girls running away. You remember their father? He was a very good client of mine."

His wife nodded, "Oh, yes. Thomas Hoffman, correct? Didn't he perish on the Titanic?"

He nodded, "Yes sadly he did. And when he did he left every cent to his girls. I've been trying to find them so they could have their inheritance...I'd rather those girls have it then the state...or worse...Mrs. Hoffman finds a way to get her hands on it."

"I never liked that woman, Jacob."

"I know, Millie."

----------

Kelly knocked on the half opened door and poked her head in. "Danny?" she asked.

"Oh, Kelly. Good to see you. Come on in."

She entered the room, shutting the door behind her.

"So what brings you here?" he asked.

"I just thought I'd come say hello. I was quite bored just sitting around at home."

"Well I'm glad you came by." He smiled and she smiled back. "So how is everything going? With the baby and everything?"

"It's going okay, I suppose. Nothing new. Although I can feel him or her kick sometimes."

"Wouldn't that be painful?"

"Not really. It's actually pretty amazing. I just wish that Jim, the father, were here to go through this with me."

"He died, you said?" Danny asked.

"Yes. On the Titanic. Jim Moody."

"That name sounds very familiar." He started thinking.

"Perhaps you saw it in the newspaper?"

He started going through some paper work on his desk. "James Paul Moody? The sixth officer from the Titanic?"

"Yes." She said and leaned forward a bit, trying to get a glimpse of the papers o his desk.

"His family hired me to sort out his things. He didn't leave a will, but any of his belongings need to be taken care of and any unfinished business needs to be sorted out."

"Oh my god…. This is a bit of a coincidence."

"Yea. His family really wish they knew about his last moments. They heard about him being around a girl for the majority of the voyage, but didn't think anything of it. Perhaps you could give them those answers."

"I'd love to tell them everything. I'll answer any questions they have."

"I'll see if I can arrange a meeting."

"That will be a bit awkward. What if they don't like me? What if they think I'm a loose girl?"

"Why would they think that?"

She pointed to her stomach. "I think this might cause them to think I am. Sadly I can't lie and say my husband died at sea. They'd know I was unmarried."

"I'll be right with you. Don't worry. If they say anything that is out of line, I'll intervene."

"Thank you." She smiled at him.

"I don't think they could ever say a horrible thing about a beautiful girl like you."

"Many people have. And I'm far from beautiful." She looked at the floor.

"I think you're very beautiful."

She looked up at him. "Oh… well thank you." She smiled nervously.

They stared at each other for a moment. "I should probably go now. I have some chores to finish up at home."

She opened the door and was walking out.

"Kelly! Wait!" Danny called from right behind her and she turned around. His lips met hers for a few seconds. She pushed him away and walked quickly down the hallway.

"Kelly? Come back. I'm sorry!" he yelled after her. He caught up with her in the corridor and stood in front of her. "I'm sorry. That was inappropriate of me."

"I'm still in love with Jim." She said slowly. "I'm not really ready to move on and find someone else. I'm not sure if I'll ever be. My heart has been broken once already. I don't think I could bear for it to happen again."

"I wouldn't break your heart…" he put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm going home. Send me a letter about when I can meet with Jim's family. I'll see you around sometime." She turned and left quietly.

Danny was just left standing there alone.

----------

When Rebecca returned home she was beaming, "Kelly!" She called out, taking her coat off and hanging it up.

Her sister came out of the parlor, "What did the doctor say?"

Rebecca just grinned. Kelly returned it, "Oh, Becca! I'm so happy for you!"

The sisters hugged, "Thank you!"

Rebecca pulled away, "We need to celebrate! Oh, I can't wait to tell Harold! This time next year we'll both have little ones running about!"

"You'll be a great mum." Kelly told her.

"So will you."

The sisters walked to the kitchen and Rebecca proceeded to pull out the ice cream maker.

"Ice cream? Really, Becca?" Kelly asked.

Rebecca nodded, "Absolutely... this is cause for celebration!" She beamed.

–---------

The next afternoon there was a knock at the door. Rebecca checked her appearance and pinched her cheeks to add redness. She was a bit pale from having just been sick. Slowly she went to the door and opened it.

A man was on the other side... Jacob Lewis.

"May I help you?" she asked.

"You don't remember me?" Jacob asked.

Rebecca eyed him, "Should I?"

"Well I suppose not... I very rarely came by your house. Your father always came to my office to do any business."

Rebecca was silent, "Who are you? If my mother has sent you, you are just wasting your time."

"Your mother? By God no! I'm Jacob Spring...your late father's lawyer. I've come on the account of your inheritance...and your sister's inheritance."

"We have an inheritance?" Rebecca asked.

Jacob was silent a moment, "Please may I come in to discuss this?"

"Oh yes of course." She stepped to the side and admitted him in.

"Rebecca, who is at the door?" Kelly called down, she had been lying down and Rebecca thought she was asleep.

"It's father's lawyer." Rebecca called back.

Kelly appeared a moment later, looking slightly scared. "We are not going back to our mother, so you can get that idea out of your head right now!"

Jacob laughed, "As I've already told your sister I am not here on behalf of your mother. I'd like to discuss your inheritance with you."

Kelly slowly came down the stairs. Rebecca looked at her sister, "Show Mr. Spring to the parlor...I'll go fix us some tea."

She left the room.

Kelly held her arm out indicating they should go into the room off to the side.

Jacob followed her. They both sat down on opposite sofas.

There was silence until Rebecca came in a moment later.

They all took cups of tea off the tray. Rebecca took a sip, glanced to her sister then looked to Jacob, "So...what is this about an inheritance?"

"Well last year your father drew up his Will. He stated in it that everything he owned...his money, property, everything would be divided fairly between his two daughters. Kelly Ann Hoffman and Rebecca Anne Hoffman. Your mother was quite furious when she received out letter of condolence that had the note added in she would not be receiving a thing. She has been trying to fight it with you two girls gone but I've been doing everything I can to find you. It was your father's deepest wish that Ellen Hoffman receive nothing, mainly on how cruel she was to you," He looked at Kelly.

Kelly glanced to her sister then back to Jacob, "Well then..."

"So can I ask how you found us?" Rebecca asked.

"Oh it was quite by chance!" Jacob laughed, "I saw you yesterday...leaving the doctor's office. I was there with my wife Millie. She is pregnant and was having a checkup. I thought I recognized you...and asked the woman for your address. I was a bit taken aback by her calling you Rebecca Lowe but I remembered your mother ranting about you running off with some officer named Lowe." He paused a moment, "I was actually wondering...where is the man of the house?"

Rebecca gave a small smile, "He's out at sea. But he'll be home within the week."

"Ah well I'd very much like to meet him. But here," he opened his brief case and pulled out a hand drawn document. "As you can see in that paper it states that everything will be divided. What would you like to do about the property?" he asked.

"You mean our old home?" Kelly asked.

"Yes...the one you left in Southampton..."

"Well...I think I would very much like to get my things from it...any family heirlooms from our grandparents. Everything else I'd like to just sell....we don't need a home in Southampton. Do you agree Kelly?" Rebecca turned to look at her, passing the document over as she did.

Kelly nodded, "I don't see the point. I think for now we are quite comfortable in this house. I think we both like London...and need be with our money we can just buy a new house next year once the little ones are here."

Jacob looked at Kelly, "Are you expecting as well?"

She nodded.

"Incredible...your mother didn't mention you being married."

"Well...I'm not. My fiancée was James Moody, sixth Officer on the Titanic. He perished however." Kelly felt sad again.

Rebecca grasped her hand gently.

"Oh I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you." Kelly murmured.

"Well then if you'd like we can arrange for you and your sister to visit the home...retrieve what you want. Then we can put all of the rest for sale and home on auction. I can take care of your affairs if you'd permit me to."

Rebecca nodded, "Yes I think that would be smart. Just as long as none of this is getting reported back to our mother."

Jacob made like he was sealing his lips, "Trust me...I will not betray your location. Let's just say...your mother and I never really saw eye to eye on things."

"Well thank you very much sir. We are greatly appreciative."

Jacob stood up, "Of course Mrs. Lowe...Miss Hoffman."

Rebecca stood and followed him to the door.

"I will be back within the week to discuss the trip to Southampton."

"Yes alright, thank you again."

He went outside and flagged down his driver who had been taking the car around the block. Rebecca watched him speed off. She closed the door then turned to Kelly.

"Do you realize what this means?"

Kelly looked at her and nodded, "We're rich."

----------

Rebecca was busy around the house. Harold was due back any time now and she wanted the house spotless. Not that it was messy anyways...there was only so much two girls could do and she had always been a bit of a clean nut. Once she was sure it was satisfactory, she went to the kitchen to begin cooking supper. She had splurged on a more expensive meat at the market to help lead into the discussion about the money. It had been slow roasting in the oven all day and now it was ready, cooling on the stove while she put a pie in the oven. Apple, Harold's favorite. Personally she was quite glad he was coming home. She hated him being away.

Kelly came down the stairs holding a broom. "The upstairs is pretty clean. I'm not sure why you even bothered having me make your bed. It'll only get messed up once Harold gets home anyway."

Rebecca rolled her eyes, "Shush you." She looked at the dinner she had prepared, "How does it look?"

"It looks delicious." Kelly put her hand out to try to grab a tiny bit of food, but Rebecca smacked it away.

"Kelly, your not five." She scolded.

"Aw. But mommy... I'm only this many." Kelly said in a child's voice and held up five fingers.

Rebecca just smiled, "If you act like your five I'm just going to start treating you like your five."

Kelly laughed. "How so?"

Rebecca thought for a moment, "I don't know...but I'll figure out how."

They heard the front door open. "Rebecca?" Harold's voice called.  
"Oh god." Rebecca took over her apron quickly and started nervously fixing her hair. "Do I look okay?"

"Yes, you look fine. Now go greet your husband." Kelly pushed her out of the kitchen.

Rebecca would have fussed at her sister but then she saw Harold and she smiled, before rushing to greet him. She threw her arms around him.

He lifted her up. "I missed you." he put her down and gave her a kiss.

She smiled as their lips parted, "You don't even know how much I missed you." She paused, "And there is so much to tell you."

"I smell food. Perhaps you could tell me these things over dinner. I'm starved. The food on the ship was horrible."

"I figured as much...that's why I fixed a nice proper supper. We better get in there before Kelly pokes at the entire thing." She took her husband by the hand and led him into the kitchen. "Kelly, dear, look who showed up."

"Oh hey there.... uhh.... what is your name again, sir?" Kelly joked. She hugged her brother-in-law and then went back to staring longingly at dinner.

Rebecca rolled her eyes, "Kelly, you act like you haven't been fed." She pulled the plates out and began to fix the food.

"Well now that I've stopped being sick so often, I've realized I love food. Women who are expecting tend to be very hungry. You should know-" she stopped herself.

Rebecca eyed her sister but said nothing, continuing to work and ignoring the comment. "We can eat in the dining room." She picked up her plate and Harold's plate, leaving Kelly's for her and left the kitchen.

Kelly sat down in the kitchen, eating her dinner. She figured it'd be best to leave them alone.

Rebecca sat down in the dining room, "So anything exciting happen on the ship?"

Harold was eating as if he hadn't been fed in days. "Nothing exciting really. It was pretty uneventful. A bit eerie though. Being back to work. I kept having nightmares. It was horrible." he took a sip from his cup and then added, "On a brighter note, this captain didn't use me as a steward to get him tea."

She resisted the urge to break down into giggles. She thought it might be awkward after his previous comment, "That's very good. I'm sorry though...about the nightmares. Did anyone act weird around you?"

"A few people asked questions. I just explained it was something very personal I didn't wish to discuss."

"It crossed my mind that it might happen. So I was really quite nervous while you were gone." She paused a moment, "How is the meat?"

"It's great." he said with his mouth full.

She resisted the urge to make a face, "That was kind of gross, love."

"I apologize, dear." he swallowed his food. "So how have things been at home? I want to know everything I missed."

She thought for a moment, "Nothing really happened except for two things."

"What were those things?"

"We...well we've acquired some money. A great deal of money actually."

He stopped eating. "How?"

"Father's will. Apparently everything he had was left to be divided equally between Kelly and I. So that includes the money...the home in Southampton, our summer home in Bath, and the townhouse in the West End of London."

"That's amazing! Think of everything we could do with that money!" he nearly jumped out of his seat.

She laughed, "I know...it's lovely." Then she paused, "And there is the other thing."

"Is it as great as the first bit of news?"

"Yes....if not better."

"Oh. Then please, tell me. I'm excited now."

"Well it would appear...that I'm going to have a baby."

He was silent. He looked shocked. Then he smiled. "You mean.... You... I... We.... A baby?" he couldn't seem to form sentences.

Rebecca stood up and walked over to her husband and nodded, "Yes Harold. A baby...our own baby."

He put his arms around her. "This is great, darling. I'm so excited."

She smiled, "I am too."

"Perhaps I should go away more often. I come back and find we have a fortune and a little one on the way. This is all so perfect."

She hit him lightly on the arm, "I nearly lost my mind while you were gone."

"I nearly lost my mind while I was gone too. I really wished you were there with me. It probably would have calmed my nerves a bit."

"You wouldn't have gotten any work done had I been there."

"I would have gotten some work done. But it wouldn't have anything to do with the ship." He smiled, leaned forward, and kissed her.

She smiled again, "So the lawyer is supposed to get back to me about it but we need to go to Southampton to get what we want from that home. This way everything else can be auctioned off. We don't see the need in holding on to the home."

"Well with a baby on the way, and Kelly's due in 3 months, perhaps a larger house would be a good thing. Just suggesting."

"Well I don't think we want to leave London. I really love living here."

"Alright. Maybe once we get everything sorted out, we could try to look for a larger home around here. Nothing too big. Just enough for us all to live comfortably."

"I agree."

Kelly came into the room. She mouthed to Rebecca, "Did you tell him yet?"  
"Yes." she answered.  
"Good. I was afraid I was going to slip and say something if you didn't speak up soon."

Rebecca looked back to Harold, "When your done with your supper I made apple pie."

"Three-fourths of an apple pie, actually." Kelly stated. They stared at her. "What? I was hungry... I'm eating for two."

Rebecca frowned, "Well so am I. But you don't see me eating almost an entire pie."

"There's plenty left. Don't worry."

Rebecca and Harold went into the kitchen to have what was left of the pie, and Kelly retired to bed. Rebecca and Harold stayed up most of the night discussing the baby and the future.

----------

Thanks for reading chapter 25. Becky and I are glad to be back. I would say more, but I'm really sleepy. It's 3:30 AM. LOL. Anywho, please review. =D


	26. Family GetTogethers

_**Come What May**_

_**Chapter 26**_

The air had gotten colder over the past month. It was now getting closer to Thanksgiving. The air was dry and chilly.

Kelly was sitting on a train next to Danny. They hadn't spoken the whole time.

She felt a bit awkward talking to him anyway.

His elbow accidentally bumped into hers. "Sorry." He muttered.

"It's okay." She replied softly and continued staring out the window. A moment, later, she turned back to him. "How long is the trip to Scarborough anyway?"

"We'll be there sometime tomorrow afternoon." He responded.

"Alright…" she then looked back to the window.

"Are you not going to talk to me anymore?"

"I'm tired. Not really in the mood for conversation."

"You've barely spoken to me in a month… I would like to apologize for that day at my office. I was out of line."

"I survived one of the worst tragedies to occur recently. I lost somebody I loved, and I'm in a condition. Did you really think it was a good time to make a move on me?" she snapped at him.

"I'm sorry…"

"What made you think I'd even be interested in you anyway?"

"I just thought I felt something… you seem a lot more down to earth than the other women I know. Most first class women I've met are the ones my father has tried to set me up with. I never liked any of them. They're all so fake and obsessed with finding rich men to support them. Love doesn't mean anything to them. That isn't what I'm after. I'd rather have someone who cares about me and who I can care about too. I didn't mean to insult you at all or make you feel uncomfortable. I was just hoping you felt the same way. But now I realize that you don't. My mistake. My apologies."

"Apology accepted." She turned away and rested her head against the window, staring at the forest scenery going by.

Soon it began to get dark. The sun was setting, leaving an orange glow behind the silhouetted hills.

Kelly was shivering slightly, likely because she was sitting next to the window and it was freezing outside. Danny noticed this, but didn't do anything. He wouldn't even speak to her, for fear she'd become annoyed.

She drifted off into a deep sleep.

Waking up a few hours later, she realized that she was warm and comfortable. Danny's long coat was draped over her as a blanket and she was resting her head on his shoulder. He was asleep in the seat beside her. Instead of waking him up and confronting him about it, she left it like this and went back to sleep, still using his shoulder.

---------------

It was the twenty-first of November, and Rebecca was up before Harold. She usually was but this morning she was up even earlier.

They had the house to themselves since Kelly was still away and so Rebecca had every intention of giving her husband a birthday breakfast fit for a king.

She started with biscuits and while they baked in the oven she began to fix eggs and pork.

Rebecca was quite pleased with herself that by the time Harold was finally rising she was just about finished cooking.

He stumbled slowly in.

"Good morning, love." Rebecca greeted cheerfully.

He smiled at her as he settled down at the kitchen table, "Good morning."

She poured some hot coffee into a cup and carried it over to Harold, "Happy birthday."

He made a face like he was cringing, "I'm thirty... Don't remind me!"

Rebecca kissed him, "There is nothing to cringe about."

He shrugged, "Oh, I suppose not...as long as I have my beautiful wife at my side."

She laughed, "Always."

They shared another kiss and then Rebecca went to get his plate. She set it down in front of him and then retrieved her own plate and cup of tea, "I hope you enjoy it. I've been up since six working on it."

Harold looked up at Rebecca, "Anything you cook is good, love."

They ate together, mildly talking about various things. Once they finished eating, Rebecca washed up, changed her clothes, Harold dressed and they went out. The couple did some mild shopping in the market before returning home.

They ate a small lunch together.

After supper that night Harold retreated to the parlor while Rebecca lit the candles on the cake she had made. She pushed the cake in on a metal tray. On the second shelf of the tray were a glass and a crystal decanter of brandy. Beside the brandy was a small wrapped gift.

He smiled at Rebecca as she sang and once she finished Harold blew out the candles on the cake. She was about to cut the cake but Harold pulled her to him and kissed her long and hard. When they parted Rebecca looked at him, "What was that for?"

"For making this the best birthday of my life thus far."

She blushed under his gaze and cut a slice of the cake for her husband. She then cut a slice for herself and together they ate.

Rebecca poured Harold a glass of brandy and then handed him his gift. She watched as he opened it.

Inside was a black velvet box was a shiny pure silver pocket watch. Harold opened it to see she had wound it so the time was right. The clock face was beautiful with a ship in the middle of the face.

"Rebecca...this is beautiful." He told her.

She grinned, "I'm so glad you like it."

Harold smiled back at her.

"Happy birthday, darling." Rebecca told him, she raised her cup of tea and he raised his brandy, "To many more years."

And then they took a drink.

---------------

Suddenly Kelly felt someone gently shaking her. "Kel, wake up." It was Danny. She opened her eyes and noticed it was morning. People on the train were busy talking, creating a soft hum in the air. "We'll be getting off soon."

In a half hour, the train stopped at the station and they left, going into a car that took them to an idyllic light blue house surrounded by a white fence and a porch.

Danny knocked on the door.

"Is it too late to go back home now?" Kelly asked nervously.

"Yes, I'm afraid so." He replied, smiling slightly.

A tall man came to the door. His hair was dark with grey streaks in random places. His eyes were warm brown like Jim's, and his face looked like Jim's too, only more matured. "Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Moody. I'm Daniel Banner. I'm the lawyer you hired. I wrote to you last month about arranging a visit with your family and that young lady you heard about."

The man looked at Kelly. She was nervously standing behind Danny. Mr. Moody then smiled and gestured for them to come inside.

Danny and Kelly sat down on the sofa and Mr. Moody sat in a chair across from them.

"I'm John Moody." He held his hand out and shook both of theirs. "Would either of you like some tea?"

They both declined the offer.

"So I understand you were friends with my son James on the Titanic?"

"Yes. I met him on the ship. We were very close…"

"James was always good at making friends. He was always very charming like that."

"Yes, he was. Your son was a very sweet man. I got to know him quite well over those few days. I was even with him in the freezing ocean after the ship went down. I was the last person with him when he died. If only he'd lived a little bit longer, we both could have been rescued." She was nearly crying, "I was with him during the sinking. He worked hard the whole night trying to save the lives of others. He was very brave that night."

"It's hard to believe he's gone." His father said, with tears in his eyes. "It's hard for a man to lose his children. I lost my wife years ago. I tried my best to raise my children right. Looks like James turned out to be a great young man, even up until his death."

"He was the greatest man I've ever met…"

The room fell silent.

Mr. Moody looked at Kelly, and then looked down at her stomach, "Are you expecting, miss?"

"Yes." She replied.

"That's wonderful. What happened to your husband?"

"I'm not married, nor have I ever been married. The father died at sea."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Sir, there is something you should know…"

Mr. Moody stared at her for a moment. "Exactly how close were you to my son, Miss Hoffman?" he asked suspiciously.

She put her hands on her stomach, "Close enough to be carrying your grandchild right now, sir."

The man looked shocked. "My son would be a lot smarter than that… It can't even be possible…"

Kelly took Jim's ring off her finger. "He gave me this. A little before the ship collided with the iceberg. He asked me to marry him. It may sound crazy, but we fell in love. It was all so sudden, but very real."

Mr. Moody reached forward and grabbed the ring from her. He examined it. "This was my late wife, Evelyn's ring. She left it to James. She told him to give it to a woman one day who took his breath away and made him truly happy." He handed it back.

"I loved your son. More than anything. It was love at first sight, and I cared about him more than I ever knew I could possibly care about another person. It tore me apart pretty badly when he died. I couldn't eat. I couldn't function. I was too depressed to live. Then when I found out about the baby, it gave me a reason to live. There's a piece of your son that will live on."

Mr. Moody stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I think I need to lie down for a little bit." He started to walk out of the room, "Christopher, can you come in here and entertain our guests for a bit? I need to lie down." He called down the hall.

A taller gentleman walked into the room just as Mr. Moody left. He looked like Jim, only his face was a bit thinner and instead of having brown eyes like Jim, his were green. "Hello, I'm Christopher Moody. Jim's brother. You must be the lawyer and that woman from the Titanic." He shook their hands. "So what did you say to make my father have to leave?"

Kelly looked down. "I let him know that I'm over 7 months pregnant with his grandchild…."

Chris stopped and stared at her for a minute. His mouth was gaping. Then he smirked. "Looks like little Jimmy got pretty friendly on the Titanic."

"Yea…" she was feeling very nervous. "I shouldn't have come. I should leave now."

"No, please don't." Chris said. "My father is just a bit shocked. He'll be fine soon. He was very excited to meet you today. He wanted to talk to the one person who could tell us about James's last few days. I actually don't think it's a bad thing at all that you're having my brother's kid. Especially since you're very beautiful. The child will be very good-looking."

"Thank you." She smiled slightly.

"Your welcome." He grinned at her. "Would either of you like something to drink?"

"Could I have a glass of water?" Kelly asked.

"Of course." Chris left for a moment to get it.

Danny stared at him as he walked away. "I don't like him."

"Why not? He seems very sweet."

"I guess…."

Chris came back with a glass of water. "My sister should be coming soon. She's down the road at a piano lesson with one of the women from our church. She'll probably want to meet you as well."

A minute later the front door opened and in walked a short girl who looked about Kelly's age. She had the same dark hair as the rest of the family, and it went down to her shoulders in curls. "Hello?" she looked at Danny and Kelly sitting on the couch.

"Maggie, this is Daniel Banner, the lawyer our father hired to take care of Jim's stuff, and… Miss, I don't think I ever got your name."

"Kelly Hoffman."

"And this is Kelly. She was the girl who was friends with Jim on the Titanic. Well, actually, more than friends I suppose." He gestured to her stomach.

Kelly looked embarrassed.

"You mean…." Maggie froze for a moment, "What?"

"I'm pregnant." Kelly stated. "With your brother's child. Anybody else I need to explain this to or is this it?" she said sounding annoyed.

"I'm sorry." Chris said, looking apologetic.

"Well this is very surprising…" Maggie stated, sitting down.

"Believe me, it was a surprise to me too." Kelly said.

Kelly went on to describe to them some of the events on the Titanic. Danny, Chris, and Maggie seemed fascinated by this. She tried not to let herself cry, but she did. Chris put an arm around her, trying to be nice. Danny glared at him.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Henry stood up and held out his hand to Kelly. "Would you like to help me make dinner?"

"Sure." She wiped her eyes and walked into the kitchen with him.

Maggie moved closer to Danny on the couch. "So…. I hear you're a very good lawyer? Is that a hard job?"

"Not if you know what you're doing."

"I'm twenty." She said suddenly. "Just saying. How old are you?" she moved an inch closer.

"I'm twenty six."

"Oh. You're Chris's age. But he's a bit of a bum. He doesn't have a nice job like you do." She smiled. "You look strong. Are you strong?"

"Uhh… I suppose so." He then saw Kelly peeking through the kitchen door that was cracked open a bit. "Want to feel my muscle?" he turned to Maggie.

"Sure." She gently squeezed his arm. "Oooh. You must be pretty strong. That's a pretty appealing quality in a man."

"Well, thank you." He smiled at her. He then noticed the kitchen door shut again.

"So, I was wondering, Danny, if maybe you'd like to get together sometime."

He kept looking at the kitchen door. "No, sorry. I don't think that'd work well."

She pouted. "Why not?"

"Because I have feelings for somebody else and I'm not sure if spending time with you would be the best thing to do."

"I understand…" she got up. "I guess I'll just go help with dinner…" she disappeared into the kitchen. Danny stayed on the couch and sighed.

Later on, sitting around the dining room table, everyone was a bit quiet as Mr. Moody came into the room and sat down.

"Miss Hoffman," he looked at her and she looked over at him, "I just wanted to say that I think you are a sweet young lady and that I'm very glad that James met you. However, it would look very bad for our family to know about your condition. When the child is born, you may send us a letter to let us know. But I'd prefer very little contact. I don't want to besmirch my family's name. My son's reputation is that he died as a hero and an honorable man. If it got around that he conceived a child with a woman he'd only known for 4 days out of wedlock, then it would be a bad situation for everyone. I'm sorry."

Kelly had tears in her eyes. "No, I'm sorry, sir. Excuse me." She got up and walked out into the cold.

Danny got up from the table, "Thank you, but I think that Miss Hoffman and I will be leaving."

Outside he saw her, sitting on a swing under a large oak tree in the Moody's front yard. Her cheeks were red from the freezing November air.

"Kelly…" he walked towards her slowly.

"What do you want?" she snapped. Then she sniffled. A few tears escaped from her eyes and rolled down her cheek.

"What Mr. Moody said was surely upsetting to you. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. They don't want to have anything to do with me. That's understandable." She sniffled again and wiped at her eyes, "I just feel really horrible that I'm nothing but shame to them."

"You're not shame. They just don't know what to do. This is a big situation. Mr. Moody is just getting over the death of his son and he wanted to know information about him, but he got a bit more information than he bargained for. Information he wasn't quite ready for. Perhaps they'll change their minds."

She stood up. "I doubt it. I'm just that Titanic slut. The unwed mother. The young girl with no morals. The girl who threw away her future. Although I didn't have much of a future in the first place, I suppose."

"You do have a future."

"No, I don't. I'm a mother to a sailor's bastard, as everyone so insensitively puts it. I'm living with my sister and her husband. I'm a burden to everybody around me. It's going to be this way forever."

"You're going to have your baby and then you'll get married to a guy who will care about you always and you'll live with him and be happy for the rest of your life."

"You don't know that."

"It can happen."

"Not to me. I'm not supposed to be happy. The happiest days I've ever had were destroyed. They ended in tragedy. And the best person I ever met was taken away from me."

"You can be happy again. You have to let yourself. I know it hurts, but moving on would be better for you. Jim's gone and he can't come back. You know he loved you, and he'd most likely want you to be happy. If you let go of him, you're not forgetting him. You're just moving on and being happy. He wanted you to live that night, and I think he'd want you to live your life to the fullest. Not walk about missing him for the rest of your life."

"You're right… But my heart is torn to the point where I don't think it can be any more broken. I'm not sure if I have it in me to fall in love again and get hurt."

"I wouldn't hurt you…" he put his hands on her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. "I'd never hurt someone as sweet and caring and wonderful as you…"

She didn't know what to say to him. Another tear rolled down her face. Danny gently brushed it away with his thumb.

"I…" she wasn't sure how to respond.

"Shhh…" he leaned in towards her and met her lips with his, and this time, she didn't fight back.

They parted, and Kelly smiled slightly, "I'm not sure if I'm ready for this right now. But I can give you hope."

"That's all I need for now." He smiled at her.

She shivered and rubbed at her arms. Danny took off his coat and lent it too her. Then, placing his hand on her back, he led her to the edge of the property where they flagged down a man driving a carriage. "May we get a ride as close to the train station as possible?"

The man nodded and they left on their way towards home in London.

---------------

They bought a new house. One that was large enough to fit them all very well and many more.

On December 14th, Kelly turned 18 years old. Not much was done except for a few wishes. They were waiting three more days until Rebecca's 20th birthday so they could celebrate it all together. A cake was made with the words "Happy Birthday Kelly & Rebecca" on it in pink icing. Harold and Danny were singing to them both (not well one might note). Then after cake and tea, Harold handed Rebecca a small box. Inside was a golden chain with a heart shaped ruby on it. "Honey, this is beautiful." She kissed him and he placed it around her neck.

"Kelly." Danny said and she looked at him. He pulled out something from his pocket. It was an envelope. He handed it to her and she looked at it carefully.

"What is this?"

"It's something I asked Chris Moody for when we were in Scarborough."

Kelly opened the envelope and found a few pictures of Jim inside. A few of him as a child and two of him recently. She places her fingertips on the picture and tears came to her eyes.

"Something you could show your child one day when she asks about her father. Also so you can remember his face."

She threw her arms around him. "Thank you so much."

He chuckled and smiled. "You're welcome. Happy birthday."

---------------

Christmas time was soon upon them. Rebecca delighted in being able to hire a few men to help her decorate the new home. Nothing much had changed about them even though they were now wealthy enough to be a part of London society.

They had a bigger home yes, but even if they were invited to parties or anything, they politely declined.

Between decorating for the holiday, Rebecca and Kelly were busy decorating the nursery for the babies.

Christmas Eve arrived and Rebecca noticed touchiness in Harold. He was nervous about his parents coming. He hadn't seen them since he was fourteen but Rebecca had persuaded him to invite them. She just wanted to meet them. If they still disapproved of Harold's life or anything then they were definitely better off without.

At quarter to five on Christmas Eve there was a knock at the door. Rebecca straightened out her dress and removed the apron she was wearing. Then she went to the door, glancing briefly at Harold who had stiffened a bit.

She opened the door and smiled. On the other side stood an older couple; George and Harriet Lowe. Rebecca offered a smile to her in laws, "Hello, please come in." She stepped to the side and they came in.

"Harold!" Mrs. Lowe exclaimed at the site of her son.

"Hello, mother." Harold said as he allowed his mother to hug him.

She almost instantly pulled out of his arms and looked to Kelly who was standing off to the side, "You must be Rebecca... My Harold's wife. How pretty you are too!"

Mrs. Lowe was going to hug Kelly, but Harold stopped her, "No, mother. That's not Rebecca."

Mrs. Lowe looked to her son then over to Rebecca who was smiling still, "Oh dear. How silly of me!" She went over to Rebecca and hugged her.

"It's very lovely to meet you, Mrs. Lowe." Rebecca said politely.

She laughed, "Please call me Harriet. It'll get confusing, don't you think? We're both Mrs. Lowe now."

Rebecca smiled, "Of course."

"Hello, son." Mr. Lowe said.

"Hello, father." Harold said politely.

"I see you have a very nice home." Mr. Lowe took a step, looking around at the high ceiling.

"No thanks to you." Harold murmured before going to join Rebecca at her side.

His father gave him a look and Rebecca quickly spoke, "Anyways, this is my dear sister Kelly."  
"It's lovely to meet you." Harriet greeted.

Kelly smiled politely, "It's nice to meet you too."

"And you're also expecting, I see." Mr. Lowe said.

Kelly's hand went over her round stomach, "Yes, sir, I am."

"Where is your husband?"

Kelly looked down, "My fiancé died on the Titanic, sir."

"But not after I see you became with his child."

"Now, George… I think that's enough." Harriet interrupted, she went over to Kelly, "I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you." Kelly murmured.

"Would you like anything? Dinner won't be ready for another thirty minutes or so. But I could fix tea or something."

Tea would be lovely. Thank you, Rebecca."

"Kelly, would you show them into the parlor?" Rebecca asked.

Kelly nodded, rolling her eyes at how proper this was. But she knew Rebecca loved to host guests.

Harold kissed Rebecca on the cheek and she went to the kitchen.

Rebecca returned a moment later and she set the tray of tea down on the table. She poured cups for her in laws and handed a cup to Kelly, to Harold, and then fixed one for herself.

"So when is our grandchild set to arrive?" Mrs. Lowe inquired, smiling.

"In the mid-summer." Rebecca answered.

"So how did you two meet again?" Mr. Lowe asked.

"We met on the Titanic, father." Harold replied.

"How... interesting," Mr. Lowe sounded almost bored, "And you fell in love in such a short amount of time?"

"Yes, sir, we did." Rebecca spoke up.

He looked at his daughter-in-law, "And your parents approved of this?"

Rebecca frowned slightly, "My father died sir...on the Titanic. As for my mother no she did not approve but I chose to follow my heart instead of listen to her and her rules of society."

Mr. Lowe seemed to be frowning at this but Mrs. Lowe just smiled.

"So you both ran away from your proper places. I see now that you two are perfect for each other." His father snipped.

Rebecca seemed a bit uncomfortable now.

Mrs. Lowe seemed embarrassed now.

Yes father I'd like to think we are perfect for each other," Harold snapped.

"And how did you come to be able to buy this home? No sailor's wage could pay for this."

"I inherited money sir...my sister and I both." Rebecca said softly.

"Humph." Was all George could manage.

An awkward silence fell.

"So have you discussed names yet for the baby?" Mrs. Lowe asked next.

Rebecca looked to Harold and they nodded, "Yes we have. If it's a girl then Aeron with the Welsh spelling and if it's a boy then we'll name him for Rebecca's father Thomas."

"Nothing for anyone in our family?" Mr. Lowe asked.

Harold shook his head, "No father...I haven't had contact with anyone in our family for years. Rebecca's father was a true man who went down with the ship...if we have a son then we want him named for a true man."

"Alright…" George Lowe looked slightly hurt.

"When did you two get married?" Mrs. Lowe asked.

"May 8th." Rebecca replied. "After Harold rescued me from my other wedding."

"Other wedding?" Harriet Lowe's eyes widened.

"Well, you see, I was engaged to another man, Michael Sullivan, who was very wealthy. But I didn't care for him. My mother arranged the engagement. Then Harold came up to the alter during the ceremony and took me away with him. Then we got married, helped my sister leave my mother, and came here to London."

"Sounds like you've all had a very eventful last few months."

Kelly spoke up, "Things have been crazy. And somehow we've survived it all. Right now I should be dead. I should be at the bottom of the Atlantic with my fiancé. If it hadn't been for your son, I'd have frozen to death."

"Oh yes, we heard Harold was the only one to command his boat back to go save people."

"He's a hero. You and your husband should be very proud, and thankful to have a son like him."

Harriet placed her hand on Harold's shoulder and smiled at him. Then she looked at her husband.

"I'm proud of you, son." George Lowe said quickly and softly.

"That's rubbish…" Harold muttered under his breath.

"What was that, boy?" Mr. Lowe snapped angrily.

"I said that's rubbish. You're not proud of me, sir. Never have been…"

"Well, Harold, perhaps if you hadn't run away from home and defied me fifteen years ago, I would be proud of you."

"Maybe if you had believed in me then, I wouldn't have run away in the first place."

"I just wanted what was best for you, son. We could all see you had a talent as a sailor and a love of the sea. I wanted you to start an apprenticeship."

"But you never listened to me. I didn't want to be an apprentice. I didn't want to work for nothing. Look at me now, dad. I was the fifth officer on the grandest ship in the world. I did my duty well and I saved people." He glanced over at Kelly for a moment, and then back to his father, "I have a beautiful wife, a child on the way, a nice home. My life turned out fine. When will you stop being bitter and actually be proud of me? When?!"

"When you apologize to your mother and I for breaking our hearts when you left. When you understand that you hurt the whole family. I'll stop being bitter when you stop being bitter."

"I was fourteen. I had no idea I'd hurt the family. Believe me, it was never my intention. I left in order to control my own future, and you didn't seem to miss me or want me home. So I never did."

Harriet Lowe stood up with glistening eyes, "Harold, I miss you every single day. So did your father. I can't remember how many times I saw him staring at an old photograph of you with tears in his eyes. I was always so worried about if you were warm, fed, or safe. I wanted my little boy to come back home."

Harold came forward and brought his mother into an embrace. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I hurt you."

Harold's father spoke, "It was selfish of you to leave, son."

"I understand that, and I'm apologizing. But that was years ago. And to tell the truth, if given the chance I wouldn't change a thing. I'm happy with my life now, dad."

"Then I suppose I have no choice but to support that."

Harold crossed his arms. "Yes, I suppose so."

There was an intensely silent moment. Rebecca got up, announcing "I think dinner is ready. I'll go check. Harold, will you come with me?"

He followed her into the kitchen.

"Dear, could you please try to be civil and end this argument?"

He places his arm around her waist, "Yes. I'm sorry about this. Things between my parents and I has never been peaceful. Last time I ever saw them before now was five years ago. There was a huge fight and my older brother had to drag me out of the house."

"I wish you and your father could just put it all in the past and move on. You can't change the past. The only thing you can do anything about now is the present."

"You're right…" he moves his arm up to her shoulders, "let's go back in there. I'll settle this whole thing."

They entered the room together and saw Harriet discussing motherhood with Kelly.

"Dad," Harold said and his father looked at him. "I am sorry that I ran away. But what's done is done. Nothing, not even all the apologies in the world, can change it. What's the use of being bitter and angry? Let's just move on…" he looked at his wife for a moment, and then back to his father.

George Lowe stood up and sighed. "Fine with me." He held out his hand towards his son.

Harold stared at his father's hand for a moment, and then shook it. George Lowe then unexpectedly pulled his son into a hug. "I love you, son."

Smiling slightly, he replied, "I love you too, dad."

Rebecca was grinning. "I think dinner is ready by now. Who's hungry?"

Everybody started talking to each other as they entered the dining room and sat for a family dinner.

---------------

_Hopefully this chapter is alright. We wrote scenes a bit out of order and then placed them in. And I really wanted to get this up by the weekend. Please review. We wanna know people are still readnig this. Let us know what you think. Thanks. =] Chapter 27 will be out as soon as we can write it. And perhaps you can guess what that one will be about...._


	27. My Angel

_**Come What May**_

_**Chapter 27**_

Kelly slowly lowered herself onto the sofa and placed her hands over her large stomach. Harold was across the room in an armchair reading the newspaper.

"Where's Rebecca?" she asked.

He put the paper down for a moment to look at her. "She's at the market buying food for tonight's dinner."

"What are we having?"

"I think we're having ham, but I'm not entirely sure."

He went back to reading the newspaper.

Kelly sat there, attempting to knit again, and failing at that. A moment later, something happened. She felt very odd and set down her yarn and needles with one hand while placing the other gently onto her belly. "Harold…"

"Yes?" he didn't put the newspaper down.

"How long 'til Rebecca gets home?"

"I don't know. About an hour maybe. Why?"

She was slowly attempting to lift herself out of the chair. "Because I think I'm going into labor." She was struggling to get up.

It took a moment to register in Harold's mind. Then suddenly he threw down the newspaper and jumped up. "Are- are you serious?' he asked in a worried voice.

"Yes. I'm serious." She replied.

He helped her stand. "You just stay here. I'm going to… uh… I'm not sure. What can I do?"

"Don't do anything. We'll wait for Rebecca to come home and then, since we don't seem to know any midwives, I'll have to go to the hospital."

"Okay… hopefully she comes home soon…." Harold sat back down in the chair and Kelly eased herself back onto the sofa and they waited.

About an hour later, Rebecca walked through the front door carrying a basket full of food. "I'm home." She announced loudly down the hall.

Then she heard a loud moan like somebody was in agony coming from the sitting room. "Rebecca? We need you right now?" she heard Harold's voice say a second later.

She placed the basket down and ran into the room to see Kelly laying on her side on the couch, clutching her stomach, and Harold kneeling on the floor beside her trying to say things to calm her down.

"Oh God… How long has she been like this?!" Rebecca asked in a worried tone.

"About an hour. We were waiting for you to come home before we did anything about it. But then it started to get this bad and I didn't want to leave her here by herself, but I didn't think I could make her walk to the market to try to find you."

"We have to get her to the hospital right now." Rebecca sat her up on the couch and then helped her stand up carefully. Harold threw his arm around Kelly and helped her walk.

"I can walk fine on my own." She pushed his arm away and walked to the door. Rebecca and Harold followed.

Harold was trying to flag down a car to ask for a ride to the nearest hospital. Another contraction hit Kelly. She grabbed onto Rebecca's hand so tightly that it hurt.

A few seconds later, Rebecca was holding her own hand. "Honey, we're going to buy a car next week. It's much easier than this."

A car stopped by Harold. "What's the matter?" a middle-aged gentleman asked.

"My sister-in-law is having a baby. We need to get her to a hospital right away."

"I'll take you. Get in." They all got into the back seat.

After helping Kelly into the seat, they were on their way to the hospital.

Kelly had her head on Rebecca's shoulder. "Becca…" she said softly. "If anything happens to me, please take care of my child."

"Kel, nothing is going to happen to you. You'll be fine."

"My mother wasn't fine… She died trying to have me. What- what if the same thing happens to me?"

"It won't happen. Don't worry." She placed her arm around her sister.

"I'll try not to worry. But please, just say you'll look after my child if anything ever happens to me."

"I will. We'll take good care of him or her in the event anything ever happens to you. But please do try to stay around, okay, Kel? We all need you here."

Another contraction tore through her. "Ahh!" she screamed, holding onto Rebecca's arm tightly. Then she was breathing heavily. "I'm in a lot of pain…"

"We'll be at the hospital soon." Rebecca announced and tried to ignore her throbbing arm.

They soon arrived at the hospital and all exited the car. "Thank you so much, sir." Harold said to the driver.

"You're welcome. Tell the young lady I wish her luck." He smiled and drove off.

They brought Kelly inside and went up to the counter where a lady stood. "This lady needs to see a doctor right now. She's going to have a baby."

The secretary looked at Kelly. "Alright. Just sit down and we'll have somebody come and get her all ready in a room and with a doctor." She motioned to a nurse, "We need you to take this girl to a room quickly. She's in labor."

The nurse led Kelly down the hall and into a room. Harold and Rebecca sat in the waiting room.

"She's going to be alright, won't she, dear?" Rebecca asked, nervously playing with her fingers in her lap.

"Of course she will be." He put his arm around her.

---------------

"Miss Hoffman?" A male voice said. Kelly turned towards an older gentleman in a white coat. "I'm your doctor. Mr. Reid. You seem to be almost ready to deliver."

"I think so." She then placed her hands on her stomach and clenched her teeth together to avoid screaming from the pain, but she failed.

"You should be just about ready to deliver within the next hour."

"I don't know if I can wait another hour. Can't you just tear this thing out of me?! It hurts so much!"

"We're going to try our best to make this quick and with a bit less pain. I'll be right back." He wrote something on a chart and then left the room.

"Jim…." She whined to herself, "Why did you do this to me?"

--------------

Harold was now standing up, randomly walking around the room. "I'd give anything to have Jim here right now. He'd probably be pacing back and forth. Or he would start beating on the doors so they'd let him in to see Kelly. I wish he were here to see this."

"I wish he was too. But this is how things turned out. This is how things were meant to be."

"No. He should be alive right now. I should have made him take charge of my boat. Even when he told me to go. I should have made him left. He had so much ahead of him. He could have lived. Kelly would have followed and not ended up in the water. You would have still be saved."

"I wouldn't have left without you. I guess now I understand why Kelly didn't come with us. I wouldn't be able to leave the love of my life on a sinking ship to die. But honey, if you had done that, then you would have died."

"No, I would have had the sense to try to get the next boat like I he said he would. He tried to be a hero. And he was a hero, but still," a few tears were forming in his eyes, "Jim was one of my best friends on that ship. I'd give anything to have him be here to see his child be born. I'd even die just to bring him back here."

Rebecca stood up and hugged him tightly. "I'm glad you lived. It would have been much better if he had survived too, but it just didn't work out that way. Believe me, I wish I could see my sister happy and with a family, but it didn't happen that way. Fate wasn't in her favor that night."

Harold sighed and sat down, and then wiped at his eyes. "Has she thought of a name for it yet?"

"I think it was going to be after Jim if it's a boy, and I'm not sure about a girl. She didn't tell me."

"Alright. I was just wondering. Now I guess all we can do is sit here and wait."

They sat there, holding each other's hands gently, waiting.

--------------

"Ahhh! Please! This is killing me!" she hissed while in terrible pain.

"I think you're ready now, Miss Hoffman." The doctor stood by her feet. "Now I need you to push."

Kelly tried to push. Her face turned red and she gripped the sides of the hospital bed. Then she gave up and fell back onto the bed.

"Good, now you have to try again. This time push harder."

"I can't do this."

"Yes, you can, Miss. Please try. It's the only way."

Kelly used all of her strength in the next few pushes, screaming and digging her nails into the mattress.

Suddenly she fell back onto her pillow and tried to catch her breath, and she heard a baby's cry.

"Good job, Miss Hoffman." The doctor handed the child to a nurse who wrapped it in a blanket. "You have a beautiful new daughter."

"May I hold her?" she asked.

"Of course." The nurse handed her the small bundle.

The baby had her eyes open a little bit and was looking around curiously. Kelly smiled at her. "Hello, dear. I'm your mommy." She then began to cry. "Could you please go find my sister and her husband? They're in the waiting room."

The doctor walked out of the room and down the hall. "I'm looking for Miss Hoffman's family?"

Rebecca and Harold stood up. "That's us. How is she?"

"She and her daughter are both doing very well." Mr. Reid smiled. "Come with me." He led them to the room.

"Oh, Kelly," Rebecca came to the side of the bed, "She's beautiful." She gently touched the small soft patch of brown hair on the baby's head.

"Doesn't she look just like Jim?" Kelly asked.

"Actually," Harold spoke, "I do see a resemblance. There is no way this could ever be George's. It's too adorable. There is no doubt in my mind that Jim was the father."

"Have you thought of a name for her?" Rebecca asked.

"Harold?" Kelly asked, "Jim was rather close to his mother, wasn't he?"

"Yes. He spoke of her often to me. He was her little pride and joy and he was a real mommy's boy. But there wasn't anything wrong with that. Her death really hit him."

"Wasn't her name Evelyn?"

Harold nodded.

"I'm going to name her Evelyn Dorothy, after his mother and mine. After somebody who meant a great deal to him, and somebody who died to give me life."

"That's a lovely name." Rebecca smiled.

Kelly grinned at her daughter, "Your daddy would have fallen in love with you the instant he held you. If he were here, you'd be spoiled to no end. Welcome to the family, Evelyn."

--------------

The next day, Danny walked into the hospital room holding a white rose. He noticed Kelly resting and there was a small basinet in the corner where a sleeping baby was laying.

He placed the flower down on the bedside table and walked over to the baby. "You're so beautiful. Like your mother." He looked over at Kelly's sleeping form and smiled. "You are one lucky girl."

Kelly turned over and yawned. Sensing that somebody was in the room, she opened her eyes. "Danny? Is that you?"

"Yes. I came to see how you're doing and to see the baby. She's adorable, Kel."

"Thank you."

He picked up the rose and handed it to her. "This is for you."

"Aw. That was sweet of you."

After a moment, Danny made an observation. "You're looking pretty pale. Are you okay?"

"I just gave birth less than 24 hours ago. I'm just a bit fatigued."

She sat up and stared at him. Then her eyes went up and shut. She fell back onto the pillow.

Danny looked at the white sheet on her and saw a little spot of blood. He pulled the blanket up and noticed a larger spot on her dress.

He ran to the door. "We need a nurse in her now!"

---------------

"This same thing apparently happened to her mother. It's what she feared the most." Rebecca said.

"She'll be fine, dear." Her husband held her close.

Danny was pacing back and forth. "When will we know if she's alright?!" he snapped worriedly.

"Calm down, boy. She's going to be fine." Harold spoke forcefully.

"You don't know that. We've been waiting here for two hours for a doctor to say something but nobody has told us a thing. I need to know that she's alright!"

Rebecca looked at him. "I thought you two were just good friends. This seems like much more."

"It is more. I care about her a lot."

"That's lovely. Just don't ever break her heart."

"I'm never planning to."

Then a doctor walked into the room. They all jumped up and went over to him. "Is my sister alright, sir?" Rebecca asked hurriedly.

"Yes, she's fine."

They all sighed in relief.

He continued, "We were able to stop the bleeding. Now she is just resting. She should be fine and ready to leave with her daughter tomorrow morning."

"That's great news. Thank you." Harold shook his hand. Then the man left.

Danny left and walked down the hall to Kelly's room where she was sleeping.

As he approached, her eyes fluttered open.

He sat on the edge of her bed and grabbed her hand. "I was afraid I'd lose you…"

"I was afraid of that too. I was afraid of losing everybody."

"I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too. Months ago, I wanted nothing more but to die. But now I have Rebecca and Harold, and Evelyn, and I have you. I don't want to go anywhere but here in this life."

He smiled at her. "Good. I wouldn't let you leave us anyway. I'd drag you back down to Earth in a heartbeat."

"Down to Earth? So you assume I'd be in Heaven?"

"Well, I consider you an angel, so yes, you would be from Heaven."

"I think I'm already there."

He grabbed her hand and held it tight, never wanting to let go.

_I just wrote this all today. I hope it's alright. Finally theres a baby. Yay!!! So yea, please review. And I'm serious. I want reviews. if you're reading, send us something to let us know what you think. It'd make us feel a lot happier and more willing to continue with this story. Anwyho, thank you so much. Chapter 28 will be ready soon. That one, if it goes according to pla, should be interesting. Love ya! =]_


	28. Loving To Death

_**Come What May**_

_**Chapter 28**_

Kelly sat at a desk in the corner of her room and pulled out a piece of paper and pencil from inside a drawer. She began to write:

_Dear Mother, _

_I'm writing to let you know that I had a daughter last week. Her name is Evelyn Dorothy and she is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I see so much of Jim, that officer I met on the Titanic, in her face. We're all very happy. I just thought you deserved to know that your 'daughter' had a child. I know you're not proud of me at all, but that doesn't bother me. Enjoy your life._

_Sincerely, Kelly._

She sealed it in an envelope and wrote the address to Michael's home in Virginia, since George said that's who had been taking care of her. She left out the return address, and then went to go mail it.

---------------

It was now mid-march. Kelly lifted two-month-old Evelyn out of the crib in the corner of the nursery. She carried her down stairs into the dining room and set her in a wooden highchair.

Rebecca entered the room from the kitchen, holding a plate of pancakes. "Oh well look who's up." She smiled at Evelyn.

"She's been up almost all night. So have I. Do we have any coffee?" Kelly sat and placed her head down on the table, exhausted.

"Yes, we do. I'll get some." She placed the plate down and disappeared behind the kitchen door again, and then she reappeared a moment later, placing a mug in front of her sister.

"Thank you." Kelly took a sip, "I swear that child never sleeps. She keeps me up all night with her crying and such."

"Well that is what babies do. They cry."

"I understand that, but I didn't know it would be a constant thing."

"She seems pretty content now."

Kelly cut up a pancake and fed a very little piece to the baby. Then she put her head down again.

Harold came down the stairs and joined them. "Good morning."

"Good morning, dear." Rebecca kissed his cheek.

He looked at Kelly. "I heard her crying last night. You must be exhausted."

Kelly only replied by picking her head off the table slightly and then dropping it down again."

"Rebecca, we're still going out later, right?" Harold asked.

"Of course." She turned to Kelly, "we're going out to dinner tonight. Trying to have a nice evening out, alone together, before the baby comes."

Kelly looked at Rebecca. "Alright. I was wondering, could I speak to you alone?"

Rebecca nodded and followed Kelly into the living room.

"What's going on?"

Kelly yawned and then spoke, "You're only six months pregnant, right?"

"Yes. The baby is due in early July."

She stared down at her sister's large stomach, "You look like you're about eight or nine months along…"

Rebecca placed a hand over her enlarged middle. "What are you trying to say?"

"All I'm saying is that perhaps you need to go see that doctor again. You might be eating for more than just two…."

"You mean twins?"

"It seems possible."

Rebecca smiled. "That would be wonderful. Two little miracles."

Kelly smiled too. "Yes, miracles they may be, but just wait until you spend all night awake trying to keep them pacified."

---------------

That afternoon taking Kelly's words to heart, Rebecca went to the doctor's.

"Mrs. Lowe, you didn't have a scheduled visit. Is everything alright?" He asked her once they were sitting in his office.

"Everything is fine… It's just… Well… My sister pointed out that she noticed I've been eating a lot. Of course that is to be expected when I'm pregnant, it's just... A bit more then usual. And she thought... that… well… maybe I am to have more than one baby?"

The doctor thought about it a moment, "Well, you are a bit bigger then you should be for someone who is only to have one baby. I'd like to examine you."

Rebecca nodded. For the next few minutes he checked her over and finally nodded, "Mrs. Lowe, I believe your sister's assumption is right. You are to have twins."

She smiled, "Oh, how wonderful! Thank you so much!"

"You're very welcome, Mrs. Lowe."

Rebecca stood up and left the office.

---------------

Kelly walked into Danny's office.

"Hey, Kel." he smiled. "Where's Evvie?"

"My sister is watching her. And guess what."

"What?"

"Rebecca just saw the doctor. She's having twins. Isn't that exciting?"

"That's great. I'm happy for her. I'll have to share my congratulations next time I see her. Harold must be ecstatic."

"She hasn't told him yet. She's waiting til they go out to dinner tonight."

"They'll be out tonight? So you'll be home all alone?" he smiled mischievously.

She laughed, "Yes, I will be home alone. Watching my child. I'll probably do some reading."

"Would you like somebody to come over and read with you?"

"That all depends. Who would be coming over?" she smiled flirtatiously at him.

"A very sweet, charming, handsome man."

"Oh, damn. For a second I thought you would be coming over. But I suppose you meant someone else." She teased.

"Fine, maybe now I won't come keep you company."

"No!" she grabbed onto his arm and grinned at him, "Please do."

"I'll come over whenever I finish my work."

"Sounds good. I guess I'll see you later."

"See you later." He watched her leave and then returned to his work.

---------------

That night Rebecca and Harold went out for dinner. She was practically beaming the entire meal until finally Harold had to ask, "Becca, did something happen today? You've been radiating with happiness since this afternoon."

She grinned, "I have something to tell you."

"Well what is it?"

"I went to the doctor today... It's twins."

Harold nearly choked on his water, "I beg your pardon?"

"We are having twins."

"Oh my-" He laughed, "Rebecca, that's amazing!"

She grinned.

Harold went around the table to her and kissed her.

When they pulled apart Rebecca laughed, "Finish eating... The others are staring at us."

Harold returned to his seat. They finished the meal, discussing the possibilities.

On the way home they stopped in at a respectable pub, just for a brief moment.

The bartender was cleaning a glass and talking to the customer right next to them. "This man was just in here, drunk as a skunk. He was going on and on about how he wants to go after his ex-fiancé because she lied about a baby or something of that sort. I was thinking about calling the police, but the bloke left. He also claims he survived the sinking of the Titanic. How crazy is that?"

Harold leaned over towards them, "Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear, you say that man was just in here?" he gulped after he asked.

"Yes. He just left about five minutes ago. Stumbling like an infant and slurring his words. Hopefully the bugger will go sleep it off instead of doing something rash."

Rebecca looked to Harold, "We have to get home now... I'm worried about Kelly."

He nodded, "Let's go."

--------------

There was an obnoxiously loud banging at the front door. Picking up Evelyn, Kelly went to answer it.

Gasping at the man standing on her front porch, she stepped back and then tried to shut the door.

"I don't think so, darling." George slurred, forcing his way in.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I came to see for myself if your mother was right." He stared at Evelyn. "I see she was."

"George, I-"

"You heartless, lying witch!" he stormed towards her, and in return she backed up until she hit the living room wall.

"George please allow me to explain. I lied because I was sick of the situation. I couldn't stand you having this power over Harold, Rebecca, and I in our own home. I figured if I told you the baby was gone, you would have no reason to stay."

"I would have stayed because of my feelings for you. But then I was sick of trying over and over again to make you love me."

"I would never be able to love you."

"I realized, all too late." He placed a fingertip on Evelyn's cheek. The baby just stared at him. "Cute girl."

"Don't touch her." Kelly turned towards the wall and placed her hand on Evelyn's head protectively.

"Why not? Don't want her to take after her mother, letting men put their hands all over her?"

"That isn't true." She stated angrily.

"You have no idea how much I hate you, and love you at the same time, Kel… I don't even know where to begin."

"George, I'm sorry…"

"Yes, well I'm pretty damn sorry too. Sorry about this." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pistol.

Kelly backed herself up against the wall and kept Evelyn as close to her as possible. "What are you doing?" she stammered, "Why do you have a gun?"

He smirked at her reaction.

"Please, George… This is idiotic. Please. You don't want to hurt anybody."

"Yes, I do!" he barked, "I want to hurt you because you hurt me!"

"Please don't hurt my child. Please, George!" She begged as she shook. "She is innocent. If you have to hurt anybody, then hurt me. Could I put my daughter in her crib? Please…"

"No. I think you should stay exactly where you are."

"George!" she begged, "Please!"

"Fine." He pointed the gun at her as she walked over to the bassinet in the corner.

She kissed Evelyn's forehead and whispered "I love you so much," before placing her down.

Kelly came towards George again. "George… I love you…" she looked into his eyes.

He put the gun down a bit. "You do?"

"Yes…" she placed her hand on his cheek. "Very much."

He moved forward to hug her, but she kneed him in the groin as hard as possible.

"You lied to me!" he yelled angrily, he grabbed her roughly by the arm and threw her into the wall. "Again! You are a lying bitch and I hope you rot in Hell forever for the way you've betrayed me."

"I didn't mean to lie to you… I never meant to do you any harm."

"Don't lie! Yes, you did!" He pointed the gun at her head.

The doorbell rang.

"Be quiet." George warned threateningly.

"Kelly?" Danny's voice called from outside.

"Danny, help!" she shrieked loudly.

George clamped a hand over her mouth and placed the gun to her temple. Evelyn began to cry loudly.

Danny threw the front door open and ran inside. "Kelly?!" he screamed. He entered the living room and saw the scene. "What is going on here?!"

"Don't come any closer." George warned. He pointed the gun at Danny.

Placing his hands in front of himself, he tried to talk to him, "You don't want to hurt anybody. Put the gun down, sir."

Once again, putting the gun to Kelly's head, "Yes, I do!"

"Don't hurt a hair on her head! Do you hear me?! I won't let you harm her."

"I'll do whatever I damn well please."

"Let's settle down and discuss this like men." Danny reached for the gun slowly.

George closed his eyes and in one swift motion pointed the gun at Danny and fired.

"Danny!" Kelly jumped from George's grasp to help him.

George just stood there, shocked that he had actually shot someone.

"Here," Kelly ripped off part of the bottom of her dress and pressed the fabric against his wound. Then she looked up at George with tears in her eyes. "He never did anything to you!" she screeched.

"He tried to get in my way."

"He needs a doctor! Now!"

Danny took the fabric from Kelly and held it to his own arm now, "Please, don't hurt her. We can talk this all out." He attempted to find a peaceful solution to this.

"I shot somebody. No doubt I'll end up in jail now. So why shouldn't I just finish what I started?" he pointed the gun at Kelly again. "I loved you, a lot. But that love was not reciprocated. It was betrayed and cast aside. I am so sick of everything, but most of all I'm sick of you and the ways you have tortured my heart. For about fifteen years I've had uncountable feelings for you. You shattered my heart when all I ever wanted was to be close to you. I was just never good enough, was I?!" he shut his eyes and aimed.

"Kelly!" Harold's voice yelled from the front door. He and Rebecca ran in.

"Oh my god." Rebecca covered her mouth in shock and stood behind Harold.

"What are you doing, Morley?!" Harold yelled angrily, "You do not belong here in my home, threatening my family!"

"They should be my family." He turned to Kelly, "we could have been a family. You, the baby, and I. I could have taken good care of you and give you everything you ever wanted in your life."

"George, I never have, nor will I ever love you. Not after the despicable things you've done. Just give up."

"You want me to give up? Fine." He put the gun to his head. "Goodbye, darling." He spoke in a sickening way. They all looked on as he pulled the trigger and fell to the floor. Blood ran out of his mouth and his eyes were still open although it was clear he had died instantly.

Evelyn's cries were the only sound in the room. Kelly fell from her kneeling position and silently sobbed.

Rebecca grabbed Harold and fell into his arms.

Danny placed his good arm around Kelly for a moment, but then went back to applying pressure to his arm with the strip of bloody fabric.

--------------

In a long white hallway in the hospital, Kelly walked up and down the corridor, worrying about Danny.

"Kelly?" Rebecca said as she stood a few feet away holding Evelyn, who was fussing a bit, but not too much to be bothersome. "He is going to be fine."

"I won't stop worrying until I see his face."

"Then go to him." Rebecca smiled. "The doctor just came out and told us that you may go see him. Go."

Kelly picked up the bottom of her skirt, a piece of it missing from where she'd torn off a bit, and she ran down the hall to Danny's hospital room.

"Hey." He said quietly as he watched her enter.

"Hi." She replied softly, still standing by the door.

"Well, come over here. I don't bite." He grinned.

She walked over to him slowly. "I was so scared, Danny…"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her down towards him, and put his good arm around her. "I know. Believe me, I know."

"I was so afraid of you dying… I tried my best to stop the bleeding. I did what I could. Oh my God, I was so scared, you have no idea." Her eyes were glistening with fresh tears ready to fall.

"You saved me. If you hadn't helped me, it could have been really bad. But let's not think about that. I'm fine now. My arm will have to go in a sling for a bit and my shoulder is all wrapped up, but I'll be alright soon. Nothing can keep Danny Banner down."

"Right before you showed up, George was about one second away from shooting me in the face. I'd be dead if it wasn't for you."

"I'm glad I got there when I did. I don't know what I would do if something had happened to you."

She was silent for a moment. "Almost two months ago you were at my bedside while I lay in a hospital, and now here we are again, only now it's you in the bed. I'd do anything to take your place right now."

"No. I wouldn't let you be here. I'd jump in front of the bullet for you."

"You would do that?"

"Of course. I'd do anything to keep you safe. I care about you a lot, Kel."

She kissed him sweetly, then pulled back and smiled. He suddenly moved his face up and met her lips with his again eagerly, thirsting for the need of her mouth against his. A minute later, they pulled apart.

He smiled at her. "I love you."

She was speechless for a second. "I…"

"You don't have to say it back. It's alright."

"No. I want to say it. I'm just a bit nervous. I haven't said those words in a long time."

"If you said them to me now, would you mean them?"

"Yes. I'd mean them with my whole heart." She started to cry softly and she smiled at him, "I love you, Danny."

He kissed her again and she sat on the side of the bed. They talked for a while, sorting out their feelings and discussing everything and anything.

-------------

Two weeks later, Rebecca, Harold, Danny, and Kelly, who was holding Evelyn, found themselves in a car on their way to George's memorial services.

Once they arrived at the Morley residence, they saw a few men in suits all sitting on the porch, cigars in hand. A few women were walking up the front steps and into the house, all in black gowns, with men on their arms.

They all walked into the Morley's large entrance way and into the extravagant room to the left where usually grand parties would be held, but today the curtains were all shut, there were chairs neatly placed in rows, and everybody was wearing dark clothing. A few sniffles filled the room, but other than that people seemed either bored or content.

They quietly took the seats in the last row, trying to avoid any attention. They felt like they had to be there. After all, the man had died in their home.

A man stood at the front of the room and cleared his throat, then took a sip of water, and announced for everybody to sit down. People proceeded to their seats.

"I am Adam Morley. The late Albert Morley was my brother, and he departed this life last April as he went down with the Titanic with honor like a gentleman. Today we are here to remember his son, my nephew, George Albert Morley. George was born November 24th, 1894 and lived here in Southampton. He attended school at River Hill Academy where he excelled in his studies and made many friends. Last April he joined his parents on a trip to America which ended tragically for the family and altered their lives forever. George lost a loving father whom he looked up to very much. After the disaster, he stayed with his mother in New York and took care of her. He was a caring boy with a lot of love to give. He was engaged to Kelly Ann Hoffman for a while, but that ended due to complications and family issues. The Titanic sinking brought them together and they were able to console each other in their times of need. George, as a boy, was very curious and showed great talents and intelligence. We were all sure he would amount to great things. His life was tragically cut short two weeks ago in an automobile accident. We will always remember him." The man was now in tears. He stepped down. A few other relatives spoke and said basically the same things.

A half hour passed and when the speaking ended people were standing around talking. Refreshments were still being put out by the help.

Kelly stood up and held Evelyn close to her. "Perhaps we should be going now." She said to her sister.

"Kelly?" she turned around and saw Mrs. Morley standing there, clad in all black, with a small dark veil over her tear-stained face.

"Mrs. Morley, how have you been?"

"Not well." She sniffled and brought her handkerchief up to her nose.

"We're all very sorry about George…"

"Why couldn't you have just loved him?" she snapped and burst into tears.

"Excuse me?"

"If you had done as you were told and just married my son as planned, none of this would have happened. How dare you treat my boy the way you did."

"I didn't love your son, Mrs. Morley. Forgive me, but I think he was quite rude, possessive, and he didn't seem to care about my happiness."

"On the contrary, my son cared deeply for you. He loved you ever since he was old enough to speak. When he was four he told us he thought you were beautiful and he wished to marry you. When he was seven he asked your mother for your hand in marriage. When he was twelve and you left to go away to school, he locked himself in his room for a week because he missed you terribly. He wrote you letters every single day for two years, and you never responded. I would lie and say perhaps they were getting lost in the mail, but I could only keep that lie going for so long. You broke his heart over and over again. And now, my poor precious Georgie lies six feet under in a casket because of you." She began sobbing.

"Your son tried to kill me and my daughter. He shot a very good friend of mine and threatened my family. On the Titanic, he displayed despicable behavior of which I will not speak of at this moment. But let me assure you, you wouldn't be thinking so highly of your little boy if you knew of the things he had done."

"As upset as I am with you, I hope you never know the pain of losing a child." She looked at Evelyn. "Keep her safe. Losing your child is the worst pain one can know. It's like I've lost a part of myself. Now I no longer have a husband or a son."

"I am very sorry for your loss, ma'am. I've lost people as well, and I too hope I will never know the pain of losing a child. But I am not to blame for what happened to your son. He killed himself and there was nothing I could have done."

"You could've loved him back." Mrs. Morley wiped her eyes again, stared at Kelly with empty eyes, and walked away.

Danny put his arm around her and brought her close to him. "She is obviously very distraught over her son's death. Don't take it to heart."

"But… she's right." Kelly began to cry softly now and stared down towards her feet.

_Well theres a treat for those of you who hated George and wanted him dead. He's gone. I am a bit sad to see him gone, but oh well. Poor Georgie. Anywho, please review. Chapter 29 is already partially written and will be up soon. Please please PLEASE review. We will love you forever and ever and ever! PWETTY PWEASE! lol. Don't make me beg anymore. =P so anyway, thank you for reading. More will be posted soon. Love ya'll! -Kell&Beccs. _


	29. I'd Do Anything

_**Come What May**_

_**Chapter 29**_

Rebecca, now much larger and seven months into her pregnancy, was sitting in a rocker by the living room window, knitting a pair of baby booties. She put down her yarn and needles when she saw a car pull up to the house. Moving closer towards the window to see why, she saw a middle-aged woman step out of the vehicle and stare at the house.

"Oh no…" she used the sides of the chair to stand up and went over to the door just as the bell rang.

"Mother? What are you doing here?" she asked as Ellen Hoffman walked past her and walked into the house uninvited.

"A woman can't come visit her daughter?"

"Not when that woman treated said daughter terribly." She crossed her arms over her large middle.

"I see that husband of yours has already put you in the family way."

"Yes, he has. We're having twins due in July." Rebecca smiled at her mother's disapproving glare.

"Wonderful…" Ellen faked a smile. "Where is your sister?"

"Upstairs, sleeping."

"Still sleeping at this hour?"

"It's only ten in the morning, mum. Plus she needs sleep when she can. Some nights her daughter keeps her up at all hours."

"Must be difficult for her to raise the child without a husband." She said in a 'she-should-have-listened-to-me' tone.

"Actually, she is doing fine. It is difficult, but Harold and I help her and things are actually going quite well."

"But when you have your children, you won't be able to help her as much. You'll have your own family to care for."

"I haven't really thought of that. I suppose we'll have to hire a nanny just to help out. We have the money for that."

"Oh yes, I heard you girls acquired your inheritance."

"We did." Rebecca could sense her mother was going to ask for money, and was surprised when she didn't.

"Your home is nice."

"Thank you?" She was taken aback that her mother actually approved of something.

They heard a baby crying from upstairs and then footsteps. A moment later, Kelly walked down the staircase, holding Evelyn, and stopped as soon as she saw their company. "Why is _she_ here?"

"Kelly, she stopped by apparently to see how things are going."

"Things are fine. Now please get out." Kelly stated angrily and rudely.

Mother replied, "I didn't raise you this way, Kelly Ann. Now please, do mind your manners and try to remain civil."

"You better not be here with any hopes of taking us back home. We're both adults and we have our own home and money and family. You have no power over us."

"I know that."

Feeling awkward because of the tension, Rebecca suggested she go put on a pot of tea and left the room.

"My grandchild seems to be doing well."

"She's not exactly your grandchild. Not by blood anyway. Not even in any other way, considering the way you treated me."

"Are you aware of how bad you two have made our family look over the past year? The consequences your actions have had on our family name?"

"I can imagine, and I really don't give a damn."

"One daughter left a highly respected American millionaire at the alter for a middle-class sailor. And you ran away, forgetting the arrangements with the Morleys and then came to London, giving birth to another sailor's bastard. It's sickening."

Kelly was furious, "No, mother, what is sickening is a woman that is so greedy and desperate for wealth that she would sacrifice her own two children to the wolves of society."

"You have displayed yourself to society as a harlot. You should set things right, or at least make it a bit better, by marrying somebody. Living the proper way. But I doubt any good man would be interested in you now."

"Actually, I have found a good man who is very interested in me. He also comes from a family with money."

"Really? Well that's good. You're going to need him soon."

"Why?" she eyed her mother worriedly.

"I've been talking to a lawyer and I have come up with a not-so-pleasant proposition for you. It is wrong for you to be living as a single mother, and if you do not marry soon, I can and will take custody of your daughter."

"No! You can't!"

"Yes, I can. I can accuse you of being an unfit mother and take your daughter. Then you'd have to listen to me and come home with me. I'd be able to marry you off to a rich gentleman and by holding my custody of your child against you, you would help support me for years."

"You disgust me. You're using your children as property and using us for money just to keep yourself living your despicable lifestyle in high society. Do you not see how wrong this all is?"

"If you marry somebody soon, I will not be able to do anything. I could just play your sister a bit and try to get some money out of her. But either way, I will see you married and living a proper lifestyle. You will not embarrass this family any further."

"I do not wish to be a part of your family anymore."

Rebecca entered the room again. Kelly handed Evelyn to her and proceeded to run up the stairs.

"What did you do?" Rebecca asked.

"Nothing at all. Your sister is insane."

Kelly came back down a moment later, fully dressed with a suitcase in hand. She took Evelyn from her sister's arms. "I'm going away for a bit. I refuse to be in this house with that woman," she pointed at their mother.

"Kel…" Rebecca called after her, just as the door slammed shut.

---------------

Danny was at work when he heard a knock on his office door. He opened it and Kelly walked inside.

"My mother found us."

"What?" he asked.

"My mother found us and she's at my home right now. There were some words exchanged and I left."

"Is that why there's a suitcase in your hands?"

"Yes. I need to find some place to stay. But I thought I'd come see you first."

"Where's Evelyn?"

"Your secretary has her. She asked to hold her and then just did not want to give her back just yet."

"Maura has always been found of children. She has a young son of her own. Why did you decide to come here?"

"I came here because I needed to see a friendly face." She hugged him.

"Come home with me."

She stared at him.

"No, not like that. I didn't mean that way. I just meant you can come and stay the night with my family. We have plenty of rooms. Our maid could take care of Evelyn. Plus you could meet my family."

"Sure. If it's not too much trouble."

"It won't be any trouble. I'm sure it will all be fine. Just let me finish this one paper and we can go in twenty minutes."

She kissed him softly, "Thank you." She left the room and sat in the waiting room with the secretary.

A little while later, Danny emerged from his office holding his briefcase. "Ready to go?"

Kelly nodded and took Evelyn from Maura's arms. They left and entered Danny's car.

About a half hour later they arrived at a large pale yellow house. He parked the car in the front and led Kelly up the brick steps towards the door that was surrounded by two pillars and a tiny roof supported by them.

A tall blonde woman in a plain maid's uniform let them in. "Good afternoon, sir."

"Good afternoon, Caroline." He walked in, hold Kelly's hand. He placed his briefcase on the floor in the entrance hall.

"Shall I let the cook know to set another place for dinner later?" Caroline asked while looking at Kelly.

"Yes. We'll also need the guest room upstairs to be set up to accommodate my friend Kelly and her daughter."

"I'll get right on that." She curtsied and left.

Danny let go of Kelly's hand and motioned for her to follow him into the next room, the sitting room.

There sat a slightly overweight gentleman with graying hair on his head and his distinguished-looking mustache. He was reading the newspaper and didn't notice the presence of people in the room.

"Father?" Danny walked over to him.

The man put the newspaper down on his lap. "Daniel, why are you home early?"

"I took the rest of the day off. My friend, Miss Hoffman," he gestured to her, "had a family dispute and left her home. She needs a place to stay for the night so I offered her our guest room, if that's alright."

"That should be fine." He looked at Kelly, "How are you, Miss?" he stood up and came over to her, "I'm Oliver Banner."

"I'm doing fine. Thank you, Mr. Banner." She smiled politely.

"Please sit down." He pointed to the couch. They all sat down. "So, if it's not too much to ask, tell me about yourself, Miss Hoffman."

She paused to think, "Well, my name is Kelly. I'm eighteen years old. I have a four month old daughter named Evelyn. What exactly would you like me to tell you, sir?"

"You seem very polite. I'll assume you were brought up well and educated as appropriate? Who are your parents?"

"Thomas and Ellen Hoffman. My mother is not someone I wish to talk to. She is actually the reason I'm here right now. As for my father, he died last April."

"Oh, I am very sorry. What happened?"

"The ship we were traveling to America on sunk and unfortunately he was one of the unlucky ones who didn't make it. We were first class passengers on the Titanic. It isn't really something I wish to discuss sometimes. I try my best not to think about the sinking, but it's hard since it haunts me everyday."

"I understand that was a tough time for you. I won't make you speak of it. I was only wondering about your family. I like to get to know people."

"That's all fine, Mr. Banner."

"What happened to your husband?" he stared at Evelyn, who was squirming and fussing on Kelly's lap.

"I'm not married, nor have I ever been married." She stated softly, not making eye contact with the man.

Instead of commenting, he just continued asking questions, trying to find out more about her.

"Daniel, may I speak to you in the study for a moment?" Mr. Banner asked after a while.

Danny followed his father. "Son, I just felt the need to ask, how close are you to this girl?"

"Why?"

"Well you don't normally bring home women, and I see something in the way you look at her. Don't even try denying it."

"Alright. Yes. I have feelings for her."

"But why? She is very sweet and polite, but this is a woman with no husband and she has a baby. She probably has a lot of scandal attached to her name. Is this really the kind of woman you want to marry?"

"I think she's amazing. She is a lot different from the other women you've tried to introduce me to. She's more down to earth and she's very sweet and funny. I think she's great, and I would marry her if given the chance. Not right now, but in the future I would."

"Isn't this the girl who nearly got you killed? You got shot trying to protect her!"

"Well, father, isn't that proof enough that I care about her?"

"I just hope you realize what you'd be getting yourself into."

"I do realize it. And I'm sure I'm going to love it."

---------------

Out behind the Banner's house was a beautiful garden full of bright flowers and stone pathways. There was a fountain in the middle of it and a bench made of wrought iron and oak. Kelly sat on it, next to Danny who held Evelyn on his lap.

Kelly took the baby and held her, then kissed the top of her head. Danny covered his eyes and then uncovered them, causing Evelyn to giggle sweetly.

"Who's this?" a young man asked as he walked towards them. His hair was light brown like Danny's, but his face was a bit rounder and he was a few inches shorter.

"This is my good friend, Kelly Hoffman, and her daughter Evelyn." Danny answered and turned to Kelly, "This is my brother, Matthew. He's a pain-in-the-neck."

"I beg your pardon. I am not a pain-in-the-neck. You must have me confused with yourself."

Danny sighed, "They're staying over tonight. She's taking one of the guest bedrooms."

"Why doesn't she just share your room?" he asked sarcastically.

"Because that would be inappropriate. Why don't you go hang out with your drunken college buddies like usual and leave us alone?"

"Fine." He looked at them all in an odd way, shook his head, and left.

"My brother is an idiot. Don't even listen to anything he says. He's so obnoxious. Hopefully he'll spend his time tonight with his friends and away from here."

"He seemed fine to me. No different than any other college boys or younger brothers I've seen."

"I guess so…" he murmured, and then went back to playing with Evelyn.

---------------

"It is lovely to meet a friend of Daniel's." said Julia Banner, Danny's mother. She was a middle-aged woman and her hair auburn was a little bit grey. Her smile resembled Danny's, but most of her facial features were passed on to Matthew.

They were all around the Banner family's dinner table.

"It is lovely to meet you too, Ma'am." Kelly smiled politely as she slowly ate her dinner.

"Daniel, dear, please tell me you are courting this young woman. She is so sweet."

"Actually, mother, I am."

"That's lovely, son. I'm very happy for you. She's a lovely girl." Julia Banner looked over at Kelly and smiled.

"Thank you, ma'am." She smiled back politely.

"You may call me Julia if you'd like. I wouldn't mind."

"Alright. Thank you, Julia."

"You're very welcome." She took a bite of her dinner and chewed it and took a sip from her wine glass.

After dinner, Oliver asked Danny to assist him for a bit with a few legal cases, and Julia took Kelly into the sitting room.

An older maid walked in carrying tea.

"Thank you, Jane." The woman then silently left and Kelly and Julia sipped their tea for a few quiet moments.

"So how old is your daughter?" Julia asked.

"She is four months old. And quite a handful."

"I understand. All my children were handfuls too when they were little. Some still are."

"Does it get easier?"

"Yes. After they learn to walk though, it is difficult to catch up with them. They want to go everywhere. And as they grow older, they are a bit easier to take care of. Watching your children grow up is a beautiful experience."

"I'm looking forward to that."

"And please do keep her safe. I'd hate for anything to happen to her." Julia had a sad expression and looked away for a moment.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Just got lost in thought for a moment. That's all."

"Okay…"

"Before Daniel and Matthew were born, I had two daughters, Katharine and Olivia. My little Kate and Livvy. They were my angels, but in December of 1885 they both became ill." Her eyes were watering a bit, "I was pregnant with Daniel and for my own safety, Oliver sent me to my mother's home. I couldn't be with my little girls when they died. It broke my heart. One was just four years old and the other was only an infant."

"I am so sorry to hear that, Mrs. Banner. I really am. That's a terrible thing for any mother to go through."

"Yes, it is. One of the toughest times of my life." She wiped her eye and then looked at away, "Well, that's all in the past."

"I understand what it's like to lose people. Not a child, but I did lose both my father and the love of my life on the Titanic…"

"Oh, dear. That's terrible! That was such a horrible tragedy. What did you do when you found out? Did you get sent a letter or something?"

"No, actually I was there to witness it all…"

Julia stayed silent, and then placed her hand on Kelly's shoulder. "I really don't know what to say to that. I can't imagine what that was like."

"It was one of the most difficult times of my life. You told me about yours, so I thought I'd share mine. I don't really wish to elaborate much on it yet. The wounds still aren't healed enough for me to want to think about it."

"That's alright, dear. I don't wish to make you speak of it."

"Thank you…" she replied quietly.

"So that's what happened to your baby's father?"

"Yes, ma'am. He froze to death... And I understand that you and your husband probably think I'm a pretty awful person. I was unmarried and I suppose I was foolish."

"No, actually you weren't foolish at all. You got a beautiful child out of the experience, and some people are going to disapprove, but who needs them? To be honest, I got pregnant before I was married. I gave birth to my first daughter, Katharine, in May of 1881 and Oliver and I married in November 1880. Although that isn't why we got married. We were already engaged. It was arranged, but we actually fell in love. Then one thing led to another. I think as long as you love someone and your whole heart is committed to them, then it's alright."

"My whole heart was committed to Jim. That's Evelyn's father. We were going to get married. But he died."

"Well, see, you were going to do things properly and marry him. And you loved him. There's nothing wrong with that in my eyes."

"I just want people to accept me and my daughter for who we are. I want life to be normal, and I want to be who I want to be. Not who I'm told to be."

"Good. Be who you want. Life is more fulfilling that way."

"I wish life could go exactly the way it should. So much has happened this year."

"I understand things have been horrible. Everyone has rough patches in their lives. You just have to keep moving forward. There is no where to go but up from here."

"That's true."

"I'm sure things will get better for you, dear." Julia smiled sincerely.

Oliver and Danny entered the room.

"Did you two ladies have a nice chat?" Mr. Banner asked.

"Yes. I think we did." Kelly responded.

"Daniel, darling, will you show Kelly to the guest room?"

"Sure, mother." He walked over to Kelly and offered her his arm.

She hooked her arm with his and they walked up the stairs. "Your mother is the sweetest woman. I am quite fond of her. She is so understanding."

"Yes, she is."

"I think you do take after her a bit."

"Really? How so?"

"Well, you're also very sweet, and you are understanding. Not many men who could end up with any high society girl they want would settle for a girl with so many issues. You befriended me and cared for me, knowing that I had a past and a bit of scandal attached to me. I am so grateful I found you."

In response to this he stopped in the hall and kissed her. "I am so grateful that I found you as well." He then pointed to the room next to them. "This is your room." He opened the door and brought her inside. "Evelyn is downstairs still. The maids don't want to let her go." He chuckled for a moment, "They seem to be quite taken with her. There is a bassinet in the room," he pointed to the corner of the room, "Someone will bring her up here. For now, just get some rest. And if you get lonely during the night, my room is right across the hall." He gave her a suggestive smile.

"Oh, Danny." She sounded slightly appalled, but amused. She picked up a pillow and smacked him in the arm with it.

"Sorry, my dear. It was only a suggestion."

"I know. If I decide to take you up on that, then you'll hear me lightly knocking on your door later tonight. But I can't make any promises."

"That's fine with me. I should probably go down stairs now to my parents before they assume something inappropriate is going on. Sleep well." He kissed her on the cheek and left.

She laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling until a maid knocked on her door. "Come in."

"Good evening, ma'am. I was just returning your child to you. She sure is adorable. Such a sweet little thing."

"Thank you." Kelly took Evelyn and placed her in the bassinet. "Hello, angel." She stroked the baby's cheek softly with her finger.

The maid left, and Kelly rocked Evelyn to sleep, before laying down in bed herself. But she didn't sleep. She sat up contemplating a few things, and waiting for the right moment to visit Danny. She had something on her mind that she needed to speak with him about.

Around midnight, she tiptoed out of the room and across the hall. She knocked lightly on the dark wooden door.

Danny opened it, looking awake. He wasn't even in his pajamas. She assumed he was waiting up for her to come to him.

"I knew you'd come." He shut the door behind her.

"I came because I needed to speak with you."

He led her over to his bed and gestured for her to sit down on the edge. He sat right next to her. "What's going on?"

"Well, when my mother came to visit this morning, I didn't just leave because of her presence. Its more about what she said to me…"

"What did she say to you?" he asked curiously.

She took a deep breathed. "Uhh… well, she told me that she wishes to take custody of Evelyn."

"What?!" he stood up.

She pulled his arm gently so he'd sit back down. "That's not all. She hopes that I will follow her and my child home with her so she can marry me off to some wealthy bastard and she can live off of my money."

"That's terrible. I won't let this happen. I'll help you in any way that I can."

"There is only one way she will forget all of this. There's one way, she said, that I can foil her plan."

"And what is that? Tell me. I'll help you."

"The only way to stop her is if I get married."

He was silent.

"I know this is crazy. Never mind. I take it back. I'll find my own way out of this mess. Although I can't guarantee it will work out in our favor…"

"I said I'd help you anyway I can, and I'd love to marry you. But now? This quick?"

"It wouldn't have to be so soon, of course. I don't know. I just don't want to lose my child, or you." She had tears welling up in her eyes.

He wrapped his arms around her and brought her close to him.

"Don't cry, please."

The tears were falling from her eyes onto his sleeve.

He rubbed her back soothingly. "Kelly, I need you to stop crying and look at me."

She listened.

"Will you marry me?"

"You don't have to do this, Danny."

"But I want to. Look, I love you, and I love Evelyn, and I want to care for you and be with you for the rest of my life. I'll do anything to keep you and the baby safe and happy, and if this is what I must do, then I'll do it. I want to marry you. I didn't dream of it being so soon, but I don't care. I want to take care of you. We can have our own family and be happy. I'll give you everything I have to give, honey. I promise you that."

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. He placed his hands on her waist and returned the kiss with as much power as she had kissed him. He slowly pushed her backwards, while their lips were still connected, until she was resting on her back with him above her.

"I love you. I absolutely love you. I need you to know that." He kissed her again, and he could feel her grinning against his lips.

"I love you too." She responded during one of the few moments his mouth wasn't against hers.

He began to kiss her neck, and then move to her shoulder, and then her collarbone.

"Danny…" she said, but he didn't stop to acknowledge her. "Danny." She said again. He looked into her eyes. "I'm not ready for this."

"Oh, of course. Right. I apologize. I wasn't thinking straight."

"I love you, and I do want to be with you in that way, but not until we're married. Just to keep things right. Plus, I don't think I could handle another child right now. I wouldn't want any accidents occurring."

"That's fine. We'll wait 'til whenever you're ready."

"So when do you want to do this?"

"Soon." He said quickly with a smirk on his face.

She giggled. "I meant the wedding."

"Whenever is good for you. I just might need a bit of time to get adjusted to the idea that I'm going to be getting married."

She sat up and straightened herself up. "So… you really want to do this? You're absolutely certain?"

"I am very sure." He smiled and kissed her again.

"Thank you. Really, thank you. You're truly saving me and my daughter from going back to a life we tried to hard to escape."

"As long as you're mine, you will never have to go back to that."

She kissed his cheek, and he put his hand on her stomach, pushing her down gently. They lay in his bed, above the covers, talking and holding each other, until they accidentally drifted asleep.

---------------

There was a knocking on the door, and then it was pushed open. "Well, well, well… What have we here..." Matthew said while staring at the two sleeping figures. He went over and picked up his leg to kick Danny playfully in the thigh.

"Uh…" he woke up, "Matty, what do you want?" he sat up to stretch.

"I don't know. How about we ask your little room mate over here." He pointed to Kelly.

"Shit!" Danny jumped up, then tapped her arm a few times.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Good morning." She said, and then saw Matthew standing next to the bed. "Oh God! What time is it?"

"It's eight o'clock." Matthew answered. "I've been asked to wake you both for breakfast. Thank you for making me only have to make one stop."

"Matt, I know what you're thinking, but absolutely nothing happened, so do wipe that smirk off your face before I do it for you!"

"Fine, fine." He backed away slowly, "Just come down stairs before Mother and Father hang you." He left and shut the door.

"I have to go check on my baby!" Kelly gasped and went across the hall, taking Evelyn in her arms, and holding her close to her bosom.

Danny came and leaned against the doorframe. "She alright?"

She nodded and followed him out of the room.

Kelly and Danny ran down the stairs, through the sitting room, down the hall, and into the dining room. They plopped down into the mahogany chairs.

"Good of you two to finally grace us with your presence." Oliver joked.

A maid took Evelyn from Kelly's arms. We'll take care of her for you, miss. Enjoy your breakfast." Another maid came in with two plates, one for herself and one for Danny.

"So Danny, did you have a good night?" Matthew asked while eying him mischievously and pushing his food around his plate with a fork.

Just smiling politely, he answered "Yes, I did. Thank you for asking." Then shot Matthew a dirty look before returning to his food.

"Was last night a pleasurable one for you?"

Danny slammed his hand on the table. "God damn it, Matt! Will you just shut up!"

"Boys, what's going on here?" Julia asked worriedly.

"This morning guess who I found all nice and nestled up together in Danny's bed."

All eyes went to Kelly, who covered her face.

"Daniel Joseph Banner!" Oliver yelled.

"Matthew, I think you should leave." Julia suggested.

"But why?" he asked in a whiny tone.

"Just go before I wring your neck!" Danny looked furious and stood up.

Matthew fled the room.

"Sit down!" Oliver yelled at his son. "Now what is your brother talking about?"

"Kelly and I were talking last night. That was all, I swear! Then we fell asleep on my bed. We were above the covers and fully clothed. No inappropriate things occurred at all."

"You two still should not have been alone in a bedroom. It's improper." Oliver's face was starting to turn red from anger. "You aren't married."

"But we will be." Danny blurted out.

"What did you say?"

Danny stood up and walked towards Kelly, placing his hand on her shoulder. "We're engaged."

Oliver was silent, but Julia was smiling. "That's wonderful." She got up and kissed her son's cheek, then Kelly's. "When are you two planning to be married?"

"We're not sure yet. I guess sometime in the next few months."

"Daniel, may I speak with you in the next room?" Oliver stood up and gestured to the door.

Once in the office next to the dining room, Danny sat down on the leather couch. "I know what you're going to say, Dad, but-"

"Do you realize what you're doing?"

"Yes, I do. I-"

"No, you don't. You're going to marry a single mother. You'll not only have the responsibility of being a husband, but also a father. Are you sure you're ready for that? I don't think you're responsible enough. She's a lovely girl, and I'll accept her into my family, but just think about the consequences there could be? She's obviously done things to upset society. Do you want to be involved with her tarnished reputation?"

"I don't care about any of that. I don't give a damn about society. I want to live my life by my own rules. I want to be happy, and I know I can be. I'll be ready for whatever comes at me, and our family has weathered worse. It'll all be fine."

"It better all be fine. Or else you'll be the one taken down by this. Not me and not this family. Is this clear?"

"Crystal, father."

Oliver walked off down the hall, and entered his study, where he slammed the door and locked himself inside for the day.

Danny went back into the dining room, where his mother was sitting. "Where's Kelly?"

"She's up in the guest room." She answered, "And son, I just want to say that she's a lovely girl, and I am excited that you're marrying her. I think she can keep you in your place." She laughed for a second, "Although I have to ask… There is no reason you two _have_ to get married, right?"

"Well, actually, yes. But I don't mind. It's what's best for the baby."

Julia's mouth was wide open. 'Excuse me? Baby?"

Danny then realized, "No, mother, I don't mean like that. You see, her mother is threatening to take away her child if she doesn't get married. She'll be forced to returned to her mother and be married off to a man she doesn't love, and possibly separated from Evelyn. And I'll do anything in my power to prevent it. Even if it involves this. I love her."

"As long as you love her. I think what you're doing is wonderful. And that little baby is so adorable. I just love her to pieces. Your new fiancé is lovely too. Don't let this one go, dear."

"I won't." he smiled, and then left to head upstairs.

Pushing open the door to Kelly's room, he saw her putting her suitcase together.

"You're leaving?"

"Your father didn't seem too thrilled. I figure I should go home. Plus I have to talk to my mother. I have to tell her she can't take away my daughter. If you're still up for marriage…"

"Of course I still am." He took her in his arms and held her close. "And it's not going to change. I promise."

After saying goodbye to Oliver and Julia, and even Matthew, Danny walked Kelly home.

"My mother should still be here. Knowing Rebecca, she'd never kick her out." Kelly commented as they walked up the front steps to her home.

They opened the door and entered the sitting room. "Rebecca?" she called out.

Rebecca appeared and walked to Kelly, hugging (as best as she could with her giant stomach). "What happened?"

"Where's Mother?" Kelly asked, ignoring Rebecca's question.

"She's sitting in the dining room."

"Good. I have to speak to her." Kelly handed Evelyn to her sister and walked ahead, and Rebecca and Danny, after looking at each other for a moment, followed.

"Mother," Kelly said as she entered the room, "You don't have to take my daughter away."

Rebecca looked shocked, and looked to Danny questioningly. He just stayed quiet.

"Why?"

"I got engaged, just like you told me to. I'm going to make everything proper. Anything to keep my baby girl out of your care."

Rebecca stepped forward. "Mother! You threatened to take Evelyn away?!"

"Yes, I did. And if Kelly doesn't get married within the next four months, I'll still take the child away. It isn't right for her to be raised as a bastard by her unwed mother."

"You are so-" Kelly started to say, but Danny interrupted her.

"Mrs. Hoffman, don't you worry. We'll be married in the next few months and everything will be fine. Your grandchild will be in my care, and you won't have to deal with any of this."

"Fine." Mother seemed unfazed.

"And one more thing. After the wedding, I don't want you near my daughter. I don't want you to ever get your hands on her. I won't give you the chance to do to her what you've done to me. If anything happens to me, Danny will take her, and if anything happens to him too, she'll go to Rebecca and Harold. And after that, she'd go to Danny's family. And after that, send her to Michael and Grace for all I care! But as long as she is never in your care, I'll rest easy." Kelly explained.

"And I'll rest easy knowing you'll be living a proper lifestyle." Mother stood up from her chair, "now excuse me. I wish to take a nap." She left the room.

"I can't believe she would do this…" Rebecca shook her head slightly.

"I can." Kelly answered.

Danny took Evelyn from Rebecca's arms, and put one arm around Kelly's shoulders. "It's all going to be fine, dear."

"So you two are really going to get married?"

"Yes, I suppose so." Kelly answered, "As long as Danny still wants to."

"I've told you again and again, I want to. Give me a few months time and the cold feet will dissipate."

"Last night when we talked you said soon." She smiled while talking, trying to not giggle.

"Well that was only because that would mean we could… you know." He smirked. "I was only kidding. We have what, four months, right? How about September? We have until then anyway."

"That's fine with me." She answered and rested her head on his shoulder.

She then tickled Evelyn and the baby giggled. She seemed so comfortable in Danny's arms.

"You three look like an adorable little family." Rebecca commented.

"We do, don't we?" Danny smiled, holding Evelyn and Kelly closer to him, never wanting to let them go.

---------------

**Thanks for reading chapter 29. Don't you guys just hate mrs hoffman? evil mother. lol. But from her threat came something good. Hopefully it will all stay good... you never know with Becky and I.... dun dun dun! Anywho, thanks. Please review. I'll be so happy. =]**


	30. We Can Try

_**Come What May **_

_**Chapter 30**_

Harold came in the front door, slamming it behind him. "Rebecca!" he yelled. She appeared.

"Harold! You're home!" she came to him and hugged him.

"Darling, why are their seven reporters outside our house?"

"Oh… well, I sent you that wire about how Kelly and Danny were now engaged and mother showed up. Mother seems to have opened her mouth and things have just all gotten crazy. Gossip-hungry reporters want the inside story about the Hoffman girls and their 'scandals on the Titanic'. They also want a picture of Evelyn, whom they've dubbed as one of the only good things to come out of the disaster. They're hoping we'll talk to them, but we've been trying our best to avoid them."

"I got your wire. Why did those two all of a sudden decide to get engaged? I thought they've only been involved for a few months."

"Mother threatened to take Evelyn away if Kelly didn't marry. So she is. But she's happy about it."

"You're mother has got to be the worst woman I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. That's horrible."

"Why thank you, Mr. Lowe." Said a voice behind him. He turned around and saw Mrs. Hoffman standing there. "I'll be sure to remember that comment fondly."

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I meant no disrespect. I've just gotten home from a long time at sea and I'm a bit irritable."

She ignored him. "Rebecca, where's your sister?"

"She went to go visit Danny."

Mother walked off and Harold leaned in close to Rebecca. "Is she staying here?"

"No. We got her a hotel room. She'll be here until September for the wedding, and then I believe she'll be on her way."

"What exactly has the press been saying anyway?"

Rebecca left the room for a moment and returned with a newspaper. "Here's the engagement announcement."

He began to read: "Mrs. Ellen Hoffman, wife of the late Thomas F. Hoffman who had been killed in last year's Titanic disaster, would like to announce the engagement of her daughter Kelly Ann Hoffman to Daniel Joseph Banner, son of Oliver and Julia Banner, of London. The bride, 18 years of age, was last engaged to Mr. George Morley. He was involved in a fatal accident in March. She has a young daughter, Evelyn, who was born out of wedlock in January. The child is said to be the daughter of the late James Moody, the Titanic's sixth officer and another one of her victims. Her sister, Rebecca, left her fiancé, Michael Sullivan, at the alter last year for the Titanic's fifth officer, Harold Lowe. We hear they are married and expecting.

The groom, 27 years of age, is a lawyer for his father's company, and reportedly has been 'beating women away with a stick' due to his charm and handsome looks. How he ever picked the young Miss Hoffman to be his wife is a mystery to most. The young man could have had his pick of the loveliest girls in London who come without pasts such as affairs and bastard children. However things turn out, this sure is an interesting arrangement."

Harold put the paper down. "Who wrote all this?"

"Some reporter who just loves gossip. Mother told them a lot. I'm absolutely sickened."

"This is crazy. Can't your mother just stay out of this? How did she find us anyway?"

"Apparently George said something before he came here in March."

" Morley has just got to keep making our lives difficult even after death. I'm sick of it all. Why am I a part of this whole mess?"

"What mess are you talking about, Harold…?"

"This! Everything! Your sister, George, your mother, and all of this. It's driving me crazy! How did I get involved in all this shit?!"

"You married me…"

"I was never expecting all this insanity when I married you."

"So what are you saying? You regret marrying me?"

"No. That's not what I'm saying at all!"

"Sounds like it to me." Rebecca waddled up the stairs, crying.

Harold plopped down in a chair and sighed. His wife was 8 months pregnant and her hormones must have been getting the best of her.

---------------

Kelly was sitting outside with Danny in the Banner's backyard. Evelyn was in the grass, pulling up the green blades.

Mr. Banner came storming outside, followed by his wife. "See what you've caused!" he thrust a newspaper at them.

"Now dear, please calm down." Julia Banner tried to reason with her husband.

Danny picked up the paper and read it. Kelly peeked over his shoulder.

"Marrying a girl whose past is like stormy waters, Daniel Banner's family had a bit of trouble before too. His mother, Julia Elaine White Banner, had been with child before wedding her husband. The pair married and six months later Mrs. Banner gave birth to a daughter, who died at the age of four. Daniel Banner's fiancé gave birth to a child conceived out of wedlock back in mid-January. The child's father is reportedly dead (a victim of the Titanic tragedy). Therefore, young Mr. Banner will become both a father and a husband when the couple wed in September…" it went on to describe a bit more of the wedding plans that had been discussed.

Danny was silent.

"See what this has done?! Nobody even gave a thought to that. For over 30 years nobody has spoken of it. Now it's out there, ruining our name."

"I'm sorry for all of this." Kelly said softly.

"An apology won't fix this." Mr. Banner stated angrily.

Kelly picked up Evelyn. "Come on, dear."

"No, don't leave." Mrs. Banner said as Kelly walked past her.

"I'm sorry for all of this." She said and then walked back through the house towards the front door.

Danny followed. "Kel! Stop!"

"Why? Look what I've done…"

"This isn't your fault. My father is just angry, but he'll get over it. Everybody will."

"No, Danny, they won't. It was unfair of me to bring your family into my mess."

"Please stop."

"I can't… I need to go home right now. I want to leave your family alone for a while." She kissed him on the cheek and left.

While walking down the street quickly, a young blonde girl stopped in front of her. "Kelly Hoffman? "

"Yes?" she looked up. There was an old classmate of hers. "Norah, I haven't seen you in a very long time."

"Not since you took off last year to go on a trip with your family. Then you never came back. I can see why." She was staring at the baby.

"Things got busy."

"I can see that. Oh well. It wasn't much of a loss not having you with us during our last year. It was actually a lot more pleasant."

"Thanks…" Kelly replied unenthusiastically.

"Well, you were the worst student at the academy. You were loud and rebellious and always a troublemaker. You really gave our school a bad name, but with you gone we were able to restore the reputation of excellence and morals."

"I'll admit I got into trouble occasionally, but I didn't give the school a bad name. It was all of you and your haughty attitudes. I was the only real person at that whole place."

"Your activities over the past year have become the height of conversation for the last month since those articles started coming out in the paper. I hear you're engaged too. That's lovely. How any man could ever want you, I'll never know."

"Do you not care about what I've been through or what other people like me have gone through? You've always been inconsiderate and stuck up. I'm glad I left school and all the people like you."

"We're glad you left too. Good day." Norah spoke coldly and went on her way.

"Likewise." Kelly said, and under her breath whispered "Not really."

---------------

Harold heard a commotion outside and went to the door.

"Leave me alone!" he heard Kelly yell and then saw her clutching Evelyn to her chest and trying to get through the group of reporters.

"That's enough!" Harold yelled loudly and the reporters stopped to look at him. He reached out, grabbed Kelly's arm and dragged her inside. As the door shut, there were three bright flashes from camera bulbs.

"Thank you." She said and smiled. 'It's a good thing you're home."

"I suppose."

"Something wrong?"

"Rebecca is angry with me."

"Why? What happened?" she asked with a worried expression.

He took a deep breath. 'I was upset about the reporters and I said some things. She got angry and ran upstairs to cry. I decided to leave her be for now."

"What things did you say to her…?"

"I said I'm sick of all this insanity. With George and your mother and now this."

"This is my entire fault…"

"No…"

"You don't sound too convincing! Tell me the truth, Harold!"

He was quiet.

"Exactly." She gently pushed Evelyn into his arms and left the house, going through the reporters.

She ran down the street, crying, and kept running until she reached a park and sat on a bench. "What have I done? I've ruined everybody's lives… I'm so stupid!" she sobbed into her hands.

---------------

Rebecca came down stairs wiping her red puffy eyes. "Harold?"

He walked towards her. They stared at each other for a moment. "I'm so sorry, honey." He put his arms around her.

She returned this embrace. "What you said hurt me."

"I know. I didn't mean it. I've been in a bad mood since I got off the ship. I am glad I married you and I can get through whatever happens. We've been through so much already. I just wish that everything will be normal soon."

"It will be."

Evelyn began to cry from her bassinet in the sitting room.

Rebecca looked towards the other room. "Where's Kelly?"

"She left…"

"She just left? And didn't take Evelyn? Where'd she go?"

Harold sighed and looked down, "I don't know… she just ran off."

"What did you say to her?"

"Basically what I said to you. I explained the argument we had and she ran."

"That was a stupid thing to say to her." Rebecca left Harold's arms and went to comfort Evelyn. "Shhh…. It's alright, dear. Mummy will come home soon… I hope."

---------------

Around 10 o'clock at night, Rebecca heard a knocking at the door. She was holding Evelyn and went to answer it. There stood Danny. "Is Kelly here?" he asked hopefully.

"No, she's not. We haven't seen her in hours."

"She fled my house earlier today and I wanted to make sure she's alright, but I guess she's not. My father was angered over some things printed in the papers about him and my mother."

"Harold said something to her about how it's her fault for what's happening. Then she handed Evelyn to my husband and left. We haven't seen or heard from her in four or five hours.

"What?!" his eyes widened. "Didn't anyone think to go look for her?"

"My husband is tired from work. He's been a bit irritable all day and needs his rest. I am in a bit of a condition, if you haven't noticed. Also I'm watching her daughter. I didn't know what to do."

"You should've called me!" he yelled, "I'm going to go look for her."

He ran out the door. "Good luck…" Rebecca called out before shutting the front door.

---------------

Danny ran all around the area, checking cafes and bars and even the library. He went to every public place he could think of. He was walking and decided to cut through a park. It was dark everywhere else except for the path that had lights trailing beside it. The only sounds he could hear were that of a nearby stream, and also he heard something else. He listened closer and thought he heard crying.

Jogging towards the source of the sound, he saw a figure on a bench.

"Kelly!" he yelled and the person looked at him.

"Go away, Danny!"

He ran to sit beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. "I'm so glad I found you."

"You shouldn't have looked for me. I'm not worth it."

"Yes, you are. To me you are completely worth it."

"Look what I did, Danny… I ruined everything."

"No, you didn't. You didn't ru-"

She interrupted him, "I made bad decisions and I did things that are considered to be immoral and wrong. I burdened Harold and Rebecca and I hurt your family by having their dirty laundry aired out to the press. I drove George to suicide! And perhaps Jim would have gotten onto a boat and saved his life if it wasn't for me, and also my mother died from giving birth to me. I've done nothing but make people miserable or dead."

"You haven't made me miserable."

"I'm sure I have."

"Well there was only once I can think of when I was miserable from you, and that's only because I couldn't have you." He grinned.

"I hate myself so much for what I've done to everybody… I'd kill myself if I didn't have Evelyn to look after. I love my daughter and I wouldn't do anything to hurt her, but I am so sick of feeling like I keep messing up! I destroy everything I touch."

"Look at me." He placed his hands on her shoulders, "I love you. You aren't as bad as you think. To me, you're amazing. You're strong-willed and smart, and you're so loving. I'm not sure I've ever met anyone else who cares so much about other peoples' happiness."

"I love you too, but I shouldn't. You shouldn't love me either. I certainly don't deserve it."

"Yes, you do. You deserve all the love in the world, and I'm going to give you that. You can have all the love that's in my heart."

She turned away from him, making his hands leave her shoulders. "I can't love you. I'll only end up hurting you and that is something I never wish to do."

"You won't hurt me…"

Her voice broke as she spoke and tears ran down her cheeks, "Yes, I will…"

"Fine… Then the engagement is off?"

"I guess so…"

"Then you'll end up going back with your mother. She'll marry you off to someone for money, like property."

"If that's what it takes for me to stop hurting the people I care about, then so be it."

"You'll be leaving all of this…. You'll be leaving me…."

"I don't see myself having a choice…"

Danny was silent for a couple seconds, "Well, I guess I should bring you home…"

They stood up and walked back to her home in silence.

Rebecca, who saw them walking from the window, ran to open the door. "Kelly! Where'd you go?"

"I was just around. Thinking." She answered glumly.

Harold came down the stairs, wiping sleep from his eyes. "Kel, I'm sorry about what I said before. I was in a bad mood."

"You were right. And because of everything, I've decided to call off the engagement."

Rebecca and Harold both had shocked expressions, looking from Kelly to Danny, who was quiet and had his head down.

"But… you know what that means…." Rebecca said.

"I'll be out of your lives. Everything will be better. Evelyn and I will be fine with Mother…" she spoke in a way that showed she was trying to sound confident, almost trying to make herself believe her own words. "I'll be retiring to bed now." She went up the stairs.

"Think about what you're doing to yourself, Kelly! Think about your child!" Rebecca yelled after her, watching her sister disappear into the upstairs corridor.

Harold approached Danny. "Would you like some tea? Anything? If you need to talk-"

"I'm perfectly fine. I should be heading home. Goodnight." He tried to force a smile but couldn't. He then disappeared behind the front door.

"Why would she do this?" Rebecca said into her palms which were pressed against her face.

"I remember on the Titanic, the night I found her with Jim, she was going insane. She was going on and on about how she was getting too close to him and didn't want to hurt him. She wanted to get away before she hurt him. I believe she's doing it again, and it's only making everything worse. She can't leave with your mother. Do you know what kind of life she'll have?"

"She won't have a life at all…" Rebecca collapsed gently onto the sofa, and Harold sat beside her.

"We've helped her many times before, and we'll help her now. I promise you we will." He smiled at her, causing her to return the action.

---------------

Early July rolled around and Rebecca had been forced to staying in bed by doctors orders. It was too hard for her to walk around. After a week of being confined to bed Rebecca was praying for the babies to come.

Harold was out running some errands and Kelly was down in the kitchen making her sister some tea when Rebecca felt a sharp pain. She screwed up her face and then there was another shot of pain.

"Kelly!" She called, gasping through the pain.

Kelly came upstairs, carrying the silver tea service.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I think it's time. When you had Evelyn did you feel like you had been stabbed in the side?" Rebecca asked.

Kelly's eyes went wide and she instantly set the tea service down, "Do you want me to go get the midwife?"

Rebecca shook her head and held her hand out for Kelly, "No, we can wait until Harold gets home. He should be home soon."

Kelly sat down next to Rebecca and took her sisters hand, "Alright."

It was maybe only fifteen minutes until Harold walked in the front door but to Rebecca and Kelly it felt like an eternity.

"Hello?" He called out, closing the front door.

"We're up here!" She called.

Harold came up the stairs and looked at his wife and sister-in-law, "What's going on?"

"You need to go get the midwife. Rebecca has gone into labor." Kelly said.

It took Harold a moment to comprehend what Kelly was saying and then nodded, "Okay, right. I'll be right back."

Then he was running out of the room and a moment later they heard the front door slam shut.

"You think he's ready for this?" Rebecca asked.

Kelly smiled, "Not one bit." She answered with a laugh.

It was another twenty minutes before Harold came running up stairs with the young midwife in tow.

The woman went to Rebecca's side and eyed Harold, "You have to leave now, Mr. Lowe." She said.

Harold nodded. He went and pressed his lips to Rebecca's forehead.

"Could you keep an eye on Evelyn for me?" Kelly asked before he walked out.

"Sure." He replied, then gave one last look to his wife and smiled nervously as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Hours passed, or to Harold it felt like hours, as he sat in a chair he had placed in the hallway, with Evelyn in a bassinet beside him sleeping. He listened to Rebecca's cries of pain and then nearly passed out when he heard a tiny cry join Rebecca's. Kelly poked her head out of the door briefly, smiling, "It's a boy."

"R-really?" Harold whispered.

Kelly nodded.

"Miss Hoffman? The next one is coming!" the midwife called.

Kelly smiled at her brother-in-law and closed the door behind her. Harold listened for another few minutes and then there was a second tiny cry. A few minutes passed and then Kelly opened the door, "Harold… you can come in."

He came running past Kelly. Rebecca was sitting up in the bed, holding one of the babies, the mid wife sitting beside her, holding the other.

"We have a girl." Rebecca whispered.

Harold sat down beside her and the midwife held out the other baby for his father. He took the baby boy in his arms and his breath hitched.

The midwife quietly left the room.

"What are you going to call them?" Kelly asked softly.

Rebecca looked up at her sister, "We had thought for a girl…Aeron Grace." She took a deep breath, "And if we had a boy…Thomas Harold."

Kelly smiled, "Father would be so proud."

Rebecca grinned, "I thought so."

"I'm going to go check on Evelyn." Kelly left the room, closing the door lightly behind her.

"I'm so happy." Rebecca whispered to her husband.

Harold kissed her, "I know. I never imagined my life would ever lead to this. Our family is complete."

"So many bad things came out of the Titanic sinking, but the greatest thing that came from it will always be you and I. Look at the beautiful things we've created." Rebecca murmured and smiled at the sleeping infant in her arms.

---------------

Kelly had just finished packing her last suitcase. She took one last look around the room and smiled to herself. She left Evelyn up off the bed and held her close. "This is for the best…" she said to her daughter, but it was really meant more for herself.

She grabbed her bag and went down the stairs. There was Mother, holding baby Thomas. "I'll come back and visit, to make sure my grandchildren are being raised properly." She handed the baby back to Harold. "Are you ready to go, Kelly?"

"Yea…" she put down her suitcase and went to Rebecca, hugging her as tight as she could without hurting the children they were both holding. "Thank you for everything." She whispered to her sister with tears in her eyes.

"No problem…" Rebecca replied, almost near tears herself.

Kelly kissed baby Aeron on the forehead, and then she went over to Harold and hugged him. "Goodbye, Harold. I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too. Take care of yourself, alright?"

"I will." She pulled away and kissed Thomas's forehead too. Harold ruffled Evelyn's hair gently, causing her to giggle.

Somebody was urgently knocking on the front door until Rebecca answered it.

Danny rushed inside. "You can't leave." He stated while staring at Kelly.

"I have to…"

"No, you don't have to. Because you're going to unpack your things and stay here in London and you're going to marry me." He said as he walked towards her.

"Danny-" she was interrupted by his lips being pressed against hers and his hands cupping her face.

He pulled away after a few seconds, but she kissed him back for a few moments until Evelyn started to fuss from between them.

"I will do anything to prove to you that I don't care about what you've done in the past. Everyone has a past. Even me. And I'll yell it all out for the world to hear if you'd like. You may think you mess up and you may think this won't work out, but you don't know that. I have faith in this… in us. If you don't give this a try, we'll never know how great it could be."

"I don't want to do anything to hurt you."

"Then don't leave me. If you really love me like you told me you did, you won't leave me."

She didn't answer.

Danny dug into his pocket. "I hadn't gotten the chance to buy you a ring yet when you called off the engagement. But now I have one," he showed her a diamond ring, "so now I can do this properly." He got down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

She smiled, "Yes, I will." He put the ring on her finger and hadn't even gotten the chance to stand up completely when she grabbed his shoulder and pushed her lips against his strongly.

"I guess this means she won't be leaving with you after all." Rebecca said to her mother.

Mother stood there, looking unruffled. "I guess not. My plan seems to have failed. I tried to make things as difficult as possible for her, but I was unable to break her. I've never been able to do that."

"And you never will." Kelly pulled away from Danny and answered.

Rebecca moved in front of her mother and looked her straight in the eyes. "You are through manipulating your daughters' lives for money. You can stay in the area until the wedding, but after that we all want you gone. I don't want you interfering in the lives of my children, or Kelly's child."

"Fine, dear. But I have no where to stay. You would leave your poor mother completely destitute?"

"I wouldn't give a damn. But out of the kindness of my heart, we'll give you just enough money to find a small home someplace far away from here. There you will find a job and you will earn a living all on your own."

Mother began to sob and reached towards her daughter for a hug, but Rebecca backed away.

"No, mother. I've realized how truly heartless you are. You lost us all, thanks to your selfishness. I hope you're happy."

Ellen Hoffman cried louder, and then retreated out the door.

Harold approached his wife and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm proud of you."

"Thanks." She smiled at him.

Then they both looked over at Kelly and Danny, who were in an embrace, kissing quite intensely in the middle of the living room.

Evelyn was seated on the floor, clapping her hands to amuse herself.

Harold laughed, "Shall we break up the two lovebirds?"

"No." Rebecca smiled, "Leave them be." She motioned for him to follow her upstairs so they could put their babies down for a nap, and also so they could give the two lovers some privacy.

_Hello! I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving weekend. Thank you for reading another chapter of Come What May. I'm gonna just tell you now, I had no idea what a tea service was in that part Becky wrote about Rebecca giving birth. But now I know. If anyone else doesn't understand like me, it's like a tray and it has a tea kettle and cup and whatever on it. And also, Becky liked the name Aeron because it's welsh and she thought it was cute, and the baby's middle name (Grace) is just random. Thomas Harold is named after the girls' father and also for Harold (in case you didn't notice that). Anyway, thank you for reading. please review. We'll have chapter 31 up as soon as we can._


	31. Where We Belong

_**Come What May**_

_**Chapter 31**_

It was October 15th, 1913. Kelly woke up, stretching and yawning as she usually did. She put on her slippers and sat down by her vanity table. She stared into the mirror, studying her own reflection, and then she saw what was behind her. It was a dress and a veil hanging over the back of a chair. She smiled.

"Knock, knock. Time to wake up. Wouldn't want the bride to miss her own wedding." Rebecca said as she knocked on the door, and then stepped inside. "Oh, you're already up. Good." She smiled and went over to brush her sister's hair.

"Where are the babies?"

"Harold is holding Thomas, trying to get him back to sleep. Aeron and Evelyn are still in their cribs."

"Alright…" Kelly spoke softly and then was quiet.

"You okay, Kel?" Rebecca stopped brushing and looked at her.

"Yea. I'm fine. Why?"

"I was just wondering, only because you seem very calm for a woman getting married in less than 4 hours."

"I'm actually not calm at all." She laughed, "I feel like my stomach is full of butterflies."

"Well that is to be expected. I was nervous on my wedding day too. Although that was just Harold and I and a Justice of the Peace. You're having an actual wedding, large and beautiful. The kind we used to dream about as little girls."

"I don't care about how large or beautiful the wedding is. All I care about is the man I'm marrying, and if I love him. That's what my childhood dreams were mostly about."

"And do you love him?"

"Yes, I do…" Kelly answered quietly and seemed lost in thought for a moment. "I'm just getting a small bout of cold feet, I suppose."

"There's nothing to worry about. I have a few things for you." Rebecca reached into a small purse she carried into the room with her. "On the Titanic, do you remember when we went back to our cabin and gathered up our valuables?"

Kelly nodded.

"Well, I found this," she pulled out a gold chain with an emerald hanging from it, "on the floor by the dresser."

Kelly took it from her, "My necklace. The one that father gave me five years ago… I thought I'd lost it forever. I figured it went down with the ship."

"I had completely forgotten about it after the sinking because everything was so crazy. I was going through a few things two months ago and I found it again, and I thought it'd be a good thing to give you on this particular day."

'Thank you."

"That is your something old. Now for your something new." Rebecca pulled out a silver bracelet. "I bought this for you. Think of it as a wedding gift." Then she pulled out a pair of diamond earrings, "These are mine, so that is your something borrowed. And last, but not least," she pulled out a thin dark blue hair bow. "We'll use this to tie up your hair for today."

Kelly reached over and hugged Rebecca . "You have always been the best older sister any girl could have."

"Well, it's easy to be a good big sister when you have a wonderful little sister. You were a bit of a brat, but over the past year and a half, you've really grown up. I'm actually very proud of you."

Kelly smiled and her eyes began to tear.

"Let's get you dressed now, shall we?" Rebecca grinned and then went over to grab Kelly's wedding gown.

---------------

At fifteen minutes to noon, Kelly stood in a hallway in a large church. She was wearing a long white gown, with lace sleeves, a square neck, and a white bow tied in the back. Her hair was pulled back and tied up in the blue ribbon. She was wearing the earrings Rebecca had given her, and the emerald necklace was lying gently on her chest with the chain clasped around her neck. The veil was flowing down her back.

"You look beautiful." She heard someone say from behind her and she turned quickly. It was Harold.

"Thanks, Harold."

He came over to her. "Are you nervous?"

"Very." She tried to smile, but a few tears filled her eyes. She put her hand to her mouth and tried to stifle an oncoming sob. "Something doesn't feel right about this."

"What doesn't feel right? I thought you loved him. I thought this was what you wanted."

"I do love him, and I do want this. The problem is, I still love Jim…" she then couldn't hold it in anymore and the tears rolled down her cheeks.

Harold pulled her towards him and hugged her. "I would love to be walking you down the aisle today to Jim, but sadly that can't happen. And I am so sorry for that."

"I've been arguing with myself for days whether this is right. I'm marrying one man while I'm still in love with another. I just can't seem to let him go. I wonder if he'd be alright with this…"

"He wanted you to be happy, with or without him. I know Jim, and I know he would have wanted you to do what was best for yourself and your daughter. He would want you to walk down the aisle today with your head held high and he would want you to marry Danny. I actually think that Danny is a great man and will treat you and Evelyn well, and if Jim could pick any other man to have raise his daughter and marry his girl, it'd be him."

Rebecca came over. "We're starting soon." And then she noticed Kelly crying. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just nerves." Harold answered for her.

Kelly wiped her eyes gently. "Where's my daughter?"

"Julia is holding her. She took her seat already. Mr. Lightoller is here, because Harry invited him. He's keeping an eye on the twins for me. He's really been of great assistance with them today."

"I'll have to offer him a job as our new nanny then." Harold joked.

"Who else is here?" Kelly asked.

"Mother is here. Sitting in the back all by herself. There are Danny's parents and brother, and his family members. I also think I overheard somebody introduce themselves as a Moody."

"I invited Jim's family. His father didn't seem to approve of me, but I think Jim's brother and sister liked me. I had hoped they'd come."

"There's a few of our family members here too. I didn't take a good look at everybody."

Kelly walked to the door that would lead into the wedding ceremony, and peeked through a crack in the door. She saw Danny standing at the front in a suit, looking handsome. She smiled to herself and then turned to Rebecca and Harold. "I think I'm ready."

"Good. You need to be ready. We'll be starting any minute."

Rebecca handed Kelly a bouquet of red roses, her favorite.

Everyone lined up the way they would all be entering the wedding.

Harold took Kelly's arm. The organ player began to play the wedding march, and everyone went in.

As they approached the doorway to the church aisle, Kelly saw Danny.

Harold whispered to her, "You deserve this. You really do. I wish you all the happiness life can give."

Everybody in the church stood up to stare at her, and there were a few whispers amongst the guests. But that all faded away, as did the music. As she saw Danny standing at the alter, she felt like nothing else mattered. She took a deep breath and slowly made her way down the aisle towards him.

The church was decorated with red and white roses. The bridesmaids, a few of Kelly's cousins whom Mother appointed, were all in red dresses, except for Rebecca. Her dress was champagne colored with a red sash around it.

Harold left Kelly by the end of the aisle, and she went to join her husband-to-be.

Danny looked utterly speechless as he looked at her.

The priest held an opened bible and began to speak. "We are gathered here today to witness these two come together in holy matrimony."

"We are gathered here today to witness these two come together in holy matrimony under the eyes of God. It is always a momentous and wonderful occasion when we can witness the coming together of two souls. Before we hear the vows we must look upon the words of God concerning love. From first Corinthians, the thirteenth chapter, verses four to seven. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." The priest paused and looked to Danny, "Now do you, Daniel Joseph Banner, take Kelly Ann Hoffman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, through sickness and in health, richer and poorer, to be forever faithful to just her, until death do you part?"

Danny looked from the priest to Kelly and nodded, smiling wide, "I do."

The priest nodded and looked at Kelly, "Now do you Kelly Ann Hoffman take Daniel Joseph Banner to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, through sickness and in health, richer and poorer to be forever faithful to just him, until death do you part?"

Kelly nodded, "I do."

The priest smiled politely and looked at the crowd gathered, "Now the law forces me to ask this, if anyone here has any reason why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace." There was silence and he looked back at the couple, "I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss your bride."

They both looked at each other and smiled. Danny stepped closer to her and kissed her gently on the lips for a couple seconds as everyone else clapped politely for the newlyweds.

---------------

Back at the Banners' home, everyone was gathered for the reception. Everyone was eating, drinking, dancing, and having a good time. Maids and butlers walked around serving beverages, and there were a few violinists playing.

"The newlyweds, Daniel and Kelly Banner, are now going to share their first dance as a married couple."

They went onto the dance floor in the middle of the room. Her hands were on his shoulders and he held firmly onto her waist. The music started to play as they moved together, staring into each others eyes.

"So, you happy you decided to marry me?"

"Yes, very happy."

"That's good, Mrs. Banner."

"I know, Mr. Banner."

She put her head on his shoulder as they swayed side to side to the music. Soon other couples joined in.

When the song ended, people were clapping, and Kelly walked to the side of the room to see Julia who was holding Evelyn. Danny followed.

"This is my new granddaughter. Isn't she adorable? She's not related by blood, but I don't care." Julia was showing off Evelyn to some women.

"I see she's very content with you." Kelly commented to her new mother-in-law.

"Yea, she does. That's a good thing because I am in love with this little angel. I will watch her anytime you want me to." Julia hugged Evelyn close.

"I may take you up on that offer. We'll visit a lot. Don't worry." Kelly reached out and grabbed her daughter, "I'm just going to borrow her for a moment."

She and Danny walked over to the other corner of the room where Christopher and Margaret Moody were standing, talking to each other.

"I'm glad you could make it."

"Oh, Kelly. How have you been?" Christopher asked.

"I've been good, You?"

"I've been good as well. You look beautiful."

"Thank you."

Danny looked annoyed for a moment and then just smiled and put his arm around Kelly.

"You're daughter is so precious." Margaret stated. "She actually looks a bit like my brother."

"Well she should. It's his child."

Evelyn started fussing. Danny took her from Kelly and tried to soothe her.

"My father would have come, but he was busy with some things." Christopher explained.

"I know he just wants nothing to do with me or my daughter. Evelyn and I will be fine without his approval."

Margaret looked surprised. "You… you named her Evelyn?"

"Yes. I named her after your mother. She meant a lot to Jim, so I thought he'd like it."

"He would have loved it."

Matthew came running over to Danny. "Dan!"

He turned to see his brother, "Yes, Matt?"

"I didn't get the chance to congratulate my big brother yet." He put a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Congratulations." Then he looked at Kelly, "Congratulations to you too. If my brother ever gives you any trouble, let me know. I'll take care of him for you."

"Get out of here, Matty." Danny playfully pushed his brother away.

"I'm just joking around. Calm down." Matthew then saw Margaret standing there. "Hello, I'm Matt Banner." He held his hand out for her.

"I'm Maggie Moody." She took his hand, and instead of shaking it, Matt pulled her towards him.

"Would you like to dance with me?" he asked.

"Sure." She nodded and they walked off towards the middle of the dance floor.

Kelly and Danny went to see Rebecca and Harold, who were sitting at a table with Mr. Lightoller. Rebecca had Thomas on her lap, and Harold held Aeron in his arms.

"Well, here's the happy couple." Harold stated. Thomas squealed happily from Rebecca's lap.

"We just wanted to thank you for everything." Danny said.

"Yes, you've been a great help and source of support to me for months, and now everything you've done to help us with the wedding. I'm so grateful."

"It was nothing." Harold smiled.

"We have another favor we're doing for you." Rebecca stated. "Tonight we'll be taking Evelyn and watching her while you and Danny spend a night in the nicest room in the fanciest hotel in town."

"Thank you!" Danny said excitedly, and then calmed down. "That's sweet of you." His face went red.

"Just don't have_ too_ much fun." Rebecca warned jokingly.

"We're married now. We can have all the run we want." Kelly smirked and kissed Danny on the cheek.

"So when exactly can we go to that room?"

"Danny!" Kelly stared at him, appalled.

"I'm just kidding. It will happen when it happens." He grabbed her hand. "Let's go dance." They walked off, bumping into Michael.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Sullivan. Good of you to come." Kelly greeted.

"I wouldn't have missed it." They then left, and Michael, holding Grace's hand, walked over to Rebecca and Harold.

"Michael…" Rebecca was flustered, "How have you been?"

"I've been great, actually."

After noticing the awkward silence between them all, he put his hand out towards Rebecca, "No hard feelings."

She shook his hand, and then he reached towards Harold and shook his hand too. "I'm very glad you found somebody you love and I see you had two beautiful children. I met somebody and I fell in love too. This is my wife, Grace."

"Nice to meet you." Grace shook their hands.

"Aren't we half-sisters or something?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes, actually, we are."

Rebecca smiled politely.

"Grace and I are expecting a child in about four more months." Michael stated.

"That's wonderful!" Rebecca got up and put her arm around Grace, while holding Thomas tightly in the other.

"Everything seems to have worked out for the best." Michael stated.

"Yes… yes, it has."

Later on, Kelly stood at the front of the room and threw her bouquet behind her. Women scrambled for it, and one finally caught it. Margaret. She blushed as she looked over at Matt, who she had been spending the whole night with.

Danny walked up behind Kelly, put his arms around her waist and his head rested on the crook of her neck and shoulder. "Would you like to get out of here?" He whispered.

"Sure." She replied softly.

They said their goodbyes to the remaining guests and got into a car on the way to the hotel.

"There should be a reservation under the name of Daniel Banner." He told the man behind the desk.

"Yes. You two have the newlywed suite upstairs. The bellboy will bring you there and will also take your bags.

There were only two small bags, one for each of them. The bellboy led them up to the seventh floor, and brought them to room 709.

The room was absolutely beautiful, of teal and gold décor.

Once the bellboy left, Danny plopped down on the bed. "So here we are…"

"I'll be right back. I need to use the bathroom for a moment." She disappeared and he waited patiently for her to come back out.

Kelly emerged wearing only a white silk robe with black lace edges. Her hair was now down and lying in waves over her shoulders.

Danny stood up. "Wow…" he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her strongly. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."

"You make me feel almost like you just wanted to marry me for this…"

"That's not it at all. I mean I've been waiting for the day when I could be your husband and when you and I could be alone and fully together. I love you and I want to spend a romantic, intimate night with you, my wife."

"I love you, Danny." She kissed him softly, but he pulled her closer and intensified it.

He picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her towards the bed and dropped her gently onto it. He came over her, kissing her and caressing her lovingly.

"I love having you in my arms, darling. This is where you belong. Safe, happy, and loved with me." He said as he stopped kissing her neck and looked into her eyes.

"There's no place else I'd rather be."

_Sadly, this is it. This is the last chapter of Come What May. Except for the epilogue we're working on at the moment. We hope that you enjoyed our story and we're gratfeul to those who stuck with us through all the times we went for a long time with out updating. Things got rough, as we're sure you understand. We're proud to have been a part of this story and we hope you liked it. Thank you so much! Please review. It'd make us feel so much happier. Reviews would make our day, and it would only take a moment of your time. The epilogue will be uploaded as soon as possible. Thank you. Love, Kell and Becky. _


	32. Epilogue

_**Come What May**_

_**Chapter 32**_

_**Epilogue**_

It was Christmas Eve, 1917. Julia Banner answered the door, and saw her son and his family standing there. "Come in." she smiled, shutting the door behind them.

They all took off their coats. Julia hugged Danny and Kelly. "Let me see my beautiful granddaughter." She said excitedly as Kelly handed over a tiny infant to her.

The baby had almost blonde hair, which would probably turn light brown like her fathers once she got older.

"She's still so little." Julia commented, smiling at the baby and holding her close.

"Well, she's only a month old."

A little boy with light brown hair grabbed onto Julia's leg. "Gramma!"

"Hello, Jamesy." She smiled and ruffled his hair.

A young girl with long dark brown hair pulled back with a bow hugged her. "Hello, Grandma Julia. Merry Christmas!"

"Thank you, Evelyn, dear. Merry Christmas to you too."

They all entered the living room and sat down. Matthew was already there, sitting next to Margaret Moody. There was a two year old boy on her lap with her dark brown hair and Matthew's green eyes.

"Aw Benny got so big!" Kelly exclaimed when she saw him.

"So did your all of yours." Matthew commented.

The boy hopped off his mother's lap and went over to James. They were only a year apart in age, so they got along well.

A little while later, Rebecca showed up. She held a sleeping toddler in her arms, and there were two four year old twins behind her. Also, under her dress was a round bump, as she was expecting a fourth child in February.

Harold couldn't be present at the gathering due to the war.

Kelly went over and hugged her sister. "Happy Holidays."

"You too." Rebecca eased herself into a chair. "It was a challenge trying to get Evan to stop crying, but Thomas and Aeron played with him a bit, and he fell asleep. He's been knocked out ever since." She smiled. "It would be so much easier if Harold were around. I haven't seen him in almost 7 months." Her smiled fell.

"Kate is the same way." Kelly glanced over to Julia, who was making silly faces at her baby. Then faced her sister again, "Don't worry, dear. I'm sure Harold is fine and missing you terribly. He'll return soon."

Oliver Banner entered the room. "I do apologize. I was taking a very important phone call."

Little James ran over to him, "Grandpa!" and Oliver couldn't help but smiled broadly and pick him up.

The doorbell rang again. Christopher Moody entered, followed by a very pregnant wife, who everyone knew as Alexandra.

"Merry Christmas, everybody." He was wearing a festive Santa hat.

He hugged his sister and greeted everybody. "Kelly, may I speak to you for a moment?"

She nodded and walked over to the corner of the room with him.

He pulled a letter and a wrapped present from a bag. "This letter is for you. It's from my father."

She unfolded it and read quickly:

_Dear Mrs. Banner, I would like to apologize to you for being so rude and for shutting you out of my life five years ago. I've been thinking for a while, since I now have a lot of time, seeing as both of my surviving children are married. I'm alone and aging. I want you to come visit sometime, so that I may meet my granddaughter face to face. I heard you named her after my late wife, and I am sure she would feel honored. Please plan a trip to Scarborough sometime. I wish to see your entire family. I hope your holiday is enjoyable. Sincerely, JH Moody."_

Kelly was smiling. "He's finally ready to acknowledge Evelyn."

"I know. I was very excited to come here to give you that. He also bought a present for her." Christopher approached the young five year old, who was giggling with her younger cousins. "Hello, sweetheart." He kneeled down to look her in the eye.

"Hi Uncle Chris!"

"Evelyn, this is a gift from your grandfather. My father. He cares about you very much." He handed her the wrapped package.

Upon opening it, she saw it was a doll. The doll was pale with fair faux hair, and a fancy light blue dress.

"I like it." She showed it to her cousins.

"Good." He kissed her forehead and stood up.

The night consisted of singing carols and drinking tea or coffee. This happy little family was together, and would remain as so for the rest of their lives.

---------------

Danny and Kelly had two children together, James Daniel, and Katharine Olivia. Their son being named after Jim, and his middle name for Danny. Their daughter was named for Julia's two deceased daughters. Mrs. Banner was thrilled about this.

Danny, Kelly, Evelyn, James, and Kate all lived in London, not far from the Banner's home or from Rebecca and Harold's home.

When Evelyn was four, she started having dreams involving ships and water. But they were not nightmares. These were good dreams, and there would occasionally be a young man wearing a uniform. Kelly decided to tell her about her real father then, and as she grew up she would share more of it. James and Kate had no idea until they were ten and twelve.

Danny died in 1958, at the age of 72. Kelly joined him in 1980, at the age of 85. They had seven grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchildren, who all passed on Kelly's stories for years to come.

Rebecca and Harold had two more sons, Evan and Cadan. Harold remained at sea but never achieved a command in the merchant service. He was made a commander in the Royal Naval Reserve during the First World War. They remained in their home in London until 1937. They moved to Wales, where Harold died in 1944. Two years before that, their son Evan was killed while fighting in WW2. They were devastated. Rebecca moved in with Kelly and Danny, and then retired back to Wales until her death in 1961 at the age of 68. She had nine grandchildren.

Kelly and Rebecca stayed close throughout the remainders of their lives.

Ellen Hoffman never saw or spoke to her children again. She lived out the rest of her days in a small home in Liverpool. She died all alone in 1935.

Julia and Oliver Banner were very loving grandparents, spoiling Evelyn, James, and Kate as much as they could. They even treated Rebecca's children like family too. Oliver passed away in 1936, and Julia followed in 1957.

Michael and Grace Sullivan welcomed a daughter in March 1914. Her name was Emilie Louise Sullivan (thankfully somebody was able to talk him out of the name Prudence). Three years later a son joined their family, Jacob Michael Sullivan. Michael was killed in an automobile accident in 1927. Grace raised her two children alone until she remarried in 1934. She died in 1956.

After meeting at the wedding, Matthew Banner began to exchange letters with Margaret Moody. After he graduated from law school he took a trip to Scarborough to visit her. They were married in 1915. They only had one son, Benjamin Robert Banner. He did not follow the family tradition of going into law. He chose to become a banker instead.

Christopher Moody and his wife, Alexandra, had two children. Christopher Jr., and Eileen. He lived 'til 1978.

Mrs. Albert Morley (Elizabeth) never remarried. She also never crossed the ocean again. She died in 1914, supposedly of a "broken heart".

The Titanic was found lying on the bottom of the North Atlantic on September 1st, 1985 by Robert Ballard's team. The wreck now stands as a burial place for those who were lost that night. They would never be forgotten.

_This is the end of Come What May. I, Kelly, would like to apologize for the long hiatus in the middle of this. I got very sidetracked. I'm very glad I got back to this. Becky and I are so happy we are actually able to finish this story. Thanks to Annasweets, SCamden, Starlight63, Mufasa Lives On, dodge-a-turtle, donutgirl, royandjohnnyfan, Megz2009, It'slikeAna, miss .olivia .jones, Hugz-4-All-The-Emoz, sodapop86, Steg, rebelchild218, poniescheerleader1993, Simply Laura, Miss Kaelyn Marie Lorne, EGIsetter101, May-I-Take-Your-Name-Love, and Antionette Rose for reviewing our story. Reviews make us very happy. I'm a bit sad to end this, but it had to happen sometime. I'm sure Becky may miss it a bit too. She isn't online at the moment for me to ask. But I'm sure she is very thankful to everyone for reading. We love you guys. Btw, Happy Holidays to everyone and a Happy New Year coming up. We wish you all the best. Thanks, guys!! _

_Love, Kelly (overactive imagination) and Becky (doctors gal 1792)._


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